


RY-4209

by SophiaDreith



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Character Death, F/M, First Order!Rey dealing with Kylo Ren’s shit, Identity Porn, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-12
Updated: 2016-10-24
Packaged: 2018-08-14 15:13:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 22,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8018881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SophiaDreith/pseuds/SophiaDreith
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>First Order pilot, RY-4209 has to deal with the fallout of FN-2187's defection . . . and Kylo Ren.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

RY-4209, or Rey as some of her squad mates referred to her as, hurried down the corridor towards the main hangar. The halls were empty except for the occasional droid, and she was grateful for that since she was running late. Rey didn't normally frequent the larger TIE fighter hangars but today they had a mandatory welcoming event.  She and everyone else on board had been surprised when the  _Finalizer_ had been recalled from the front lines to act as an escort for one of the Knights of Ren on a mission. Rey nearly rolled her eyes at the thought. Why would a Knight need General Hux’s flagship to go anywhere? They had their own resources, and weren’t they supposed to be so much _more powerful_ than the average human? She didn’t know the details—no one did yet—but they would be taking on a host of new stormtrooper squadrons along with the Knight.

Rey eventually came to the closed side door and she halted outside to make sure her blue squad commander pauldron was in place perfectly before entering the cavernous hangar. It was loud with the chattering noise of hundreds of stormtroopers, pilots, techs, and officers. It was impossible to tell the ‘troopers and pilots apart in their full armor unless one had on their own helmet and she scanned the place, quickly identifying any familiar designations. The new troops and special guest hadn’t arrived yet so many of the ship’s personnel were still milling about, speaking to one another during the rare event that most of them were in the same place.

The main hangar was more brightly lit than the smaller one that she and her squad used. The black of space stood in stark contrast to the pale metal walls and _Starkiller_ loomed in the darkness outside of the hangar shields. Rey could not help but look towards the enormous glowing red eye that gazed out malevolently from the planet’s snowy surface. Little had changed in the five years since she’d last seen _Starkiller_. However, it was definitely farther along in construction and looked to be almost complete.

There were a few senior officers speaking to one another near the temporary stage, but General Hux hadn’t arrived yet. She wasn’t surprised—after all, he would not be caught dead mingling with the rabble. Despite serving aboard his vessel, Rey could count on one hand the number of times she’d actually seen the general in person outside of his speeches. He was quite elusive and generally kept himself well away from all but his bridge crew.

Of course, that didn’t stop him from being fodder for gossip among the ‘troopers and pilots. It wasn’t uncommon for Rey to hear more than a few snippets of conversation here or there about how good looking General Hux was. She supposed he was, in a purely aesthetic sense. His commanding voice was certainly noteworthy, as well, but considering all the other things she’d heard about the man . . . Rey grimaced.

She eventually pulled her eyes from _Starkiller_ and walked over to her squad. There were twenty-five in all but only five remained from the time she had joined the interceptor squad two years ago. Rey was commander by merit, it was true, but she’d gotten the position because the previous one had had been killed during the last battle at the front. The five that remained were as close to friends as she was likely to get on the _Finalizer_. Death was doled out far too easily for ‘troopers to get attached.

HS-6510 was a tall male who tended to hover over her. She knew that he thought the promotion to commander should have gone to himself. And perhaps he was right. Ten had been at this longer than she, but his stats did not back him up as the superior pilot. Rey far outstriped everyone in her squad.

“Any idea what’s going on?” he asked, even as his eyes bored holes into the blue pauldron she wore. The others gathered around her as if she would somehow magically have an answer.

Rey shook her head. “No idea. All I know is that General Hux isn’t happy about whatever it is. A couple of stormtroopers had to go to the med bay after he received his orders.” The general was not prone to tantrums, but he was a violent man when angered. That violence usually manifested in him beating one or two ‘troopers into the ground. It didn’t happen often—only twice since Rey had come aboard five years ago—so whatever it was, Hux was _not_ pleased.

Ten looked like he was about to say something else when the main double doors slid with a metallic grating sound and the man himself stepped into the hangar. That signaled the end of any conversation and the ‘troopers quickly got into formation. The hangar was eerily silent as everyone shut their mouths and stood completely still.

Whoever they were expecting must be practically on top of them for Hux to finally make his appearance. He was so regal in his dark uniform, and his bright red hair was combed neatly to the side. Hux’s face was stone cold as he walked past the ‘troopers and pilots lined up on either side of the main walkway. As squad commander, Rey stood at the front so the general passed not two meters from her. He was taller than she’d thought he would be, towering over many of the ‘troopers and officers. Though Captain Phasma, who followed close behind him, was still taller, Rey realized with a slight grin.

He glided by and made his way up onto the stage to look out at everyone and Rey couldn’t help but wonder at all the pomp and circumstance. After all, it wasn’t like they were welcoming Supreme Leader Snoke aboard. It was just a Knight and most weren’t worth the fuss they insisted be made over them—in Rey’s opinion anyway.

Just as the General stepped into place, a giant command shuttle appeared in the distance above _Starkiller_. They waited as it neared the hangar entrance and Rey got her first real glimpse of it. The shuttle had tall bat-like wings that angled straight up as it came in for a landing. She didn’t recognize the model right off hand which was unusual for Rey. _It must be a custom ship,_ she thought with a sinking feeling. Not many people had the resources to commission a one of a kind vessel, and even fewer in the First Order had the clout to actually get one.

She sighed into her helmet as eight other troop transports landed behind the shuttle. Hundreds of troopers poured out and moved into formation as the ramp of the command shuttle finally lowered. A small battalion of black-pauldron ‘troopers came out before the dark form of the Knight emerged from the cloud of steam that poured from the vents on either side of him.

It was just the kind of dramatic effect a Knight would go for, and it wouldn’t surprise Rey in the slightest if it had been a feature added on purpose. They all wore masks these days and it took her a second to get a good enough look to identify which Knight it was. The silver lines that wrapped around the eye visor of the mask were unmistakable. _Kylo Ren._ She could now understand why Hux had been in a foul mood the last few days. The rivalry between the ginger-haired general and the master of the Knights of Ren was almost legendary within the First Order.

Personally, Rey had never been much of a fan of the Knight. Not with the way he destroyed First Order tech over the slightest provocation . . . and then there was the _lurking._ Up until five years ago, Rey had been stationed aboard _Starkiller_ during her training. The massive base had been heavily under construction, but it still served as a major hub of ‘trooper training as they underwent conditioning and schooling. Rey had spent most of her life—all that she could remember, anyway—on _Starkiller_ being trained as a ‘trooper first before being reassigned as a pilot. It had been a quiet life, overall, filled with routine and structure.

Until the Knights had shown up.

She’d been seventeen when Kylo Ren had appeared on the base. Given her observations of the Knights who had come before him, she hadn’t allocated him much thought until he started just . . . creeping around.

Lord Ren had often been sighted mingling in the shadows, watching the ‘troopers and pilots run simulations, and it was unnerving to have the masked man lingering all the time. His presence was almost overbearing and worst of all was that it had seemed that he was watching _her._ She’d never dared to even speak to the giant man and he’d never sought her out for a conversation or an explanation of his actions. Rey’s patience had already been worn thin by the Knight who had come and gone before Lord Ren, and seeing him constantly hanging around like a giant gloomy bat had not made things easier for her.

Because she hadn’t been the only one to notice his attention.

Other people had as well and they _talked._ When she’d graduated just before her eighteenth birthday and received her orders, she’d nearly wept in relief to finally be away from the towering gargoyle of a man. Unlike most others, she’d been given a choice of assignment, which meant that she’d been requested by more than one officer. She could either stay on _Starkiller,_ or go to the frontlines as a pilot on the _Finalizer_.

The last time she’d seen Kylo Ren, he’d been standing in one of the hundreds of hangars around _Starkiller,_ overseeing the departure of graduated troops and the arrival of the newbies. And among the sea of thousands of helmeted ‘troopers and pilots, he’d _seen_ her. Though she could not see his eyes, she had known he was looking right at her through the crowd.

She’d happily left _Starkiller_ that day and hadn’t returned. Her only regret was the loss of FN-2187. Her best and only friend had also been selected to serve aboard the _Finalizer_ as Captain Phasma’s protegé, but at the last minute he’d been removed from the roster. No explanation had been given and she’d been heartbroken. Rey had nearly changed her mind about leaving, but FN-2187 had just shaken his head.

“This is your dream, Rey—to be a pilot. If you stay here, it’ll just be drills and demonstrations. Out there, you’ll get to really fly.”

Five years later, they still spoke occasionally over the comms on the rare occasion when they had the same rest time, but she still missed him terribly. 2187 had meant so much to her, and he still did, if she were honest. He’d been there for her when she’d been at her lowest and she’d never forget that rare genuine kindness.

Rey shook herself free from her thoughts of the past. Hux had spoken quietly to Lord Ren, but now he’d finally turned back to the soldiers and his microphone was on.

“Our mission,” he began, his voice echoing through the wide open space of the hangar, “is one of the most important things any of us will do, and will cement the rule of our Supreme Leader. The last Jedi Knight, Luke Skywalker, has been hiding like the coward that he is for fifteen years, but his stay of execution has ended. We have information that the Resistance has located the final section of the navigational chart needed to find Skywalker, and today we will embark on a journey that will finally end his legacy and that of the Old Republic.”

That should have been the end, but he began speaking again about the glory of the First Order and Rey slumped a bit. This was going to be one of _those_ speeches. The kind where Hux hadn’t heard the sound of his own voice enough so he had to inflict it on everyone else to make his quota. The general was quite fond of flowery language and overstuffed prose and Rey, along with every other soldier, was treated to the sight of Kylo Ren subtly tapping his foot on the ground as they all had to wait for Hux to finish.

She snorted behind her helmet and heard some of her squad-mates do the same over the comms. Thankfully it was soft enough that no one besides them heard. Eventually the speech came to an end, and Hux stood silently for the few seconds it took for everyone to realize he was actually done.

She gave the expected salute along with her brethren and then it was finally over. Lord Ren left first, nearly shoving the general aside in his haste to leave. Hux’s lip curled at being forced to follow the Knight if he wanted to leave now. The general said something to one of the officers to make it look as though he wasn’t waiting the extra few seconds for Ren to clear the room, but the second the doors closed behind the Knight, Hux was striding away. The hangar remained quiet and still until the second man left as well.

Phasma began coordinating with the new ‘troopers who had just arrived and they all broke formation to return to their duties. She felt the ship tremble ever so slightly as it jumped into hyperspace—it would be at least a day before they arrived at their first destination. She was about to head back to the interceptor hangar when a voice called out from behind her.

“Rey!” She turned around and her helmet scanned the sea of identical stormtroopers before a specific designation caught her attention.

“FN-2187!” she said happily as a soldier in white broke away and came towards her. She smiled, knowing he would not see it but that he would know nonetheless. They didn’t embrace as that would be far too intimate in the public forum, but they did clench wrists in greeting.

“I didn’t realize you would be on this mission,” she said easily. And she hadn’t. Rey had checked the registers on the off chance that her friend would be there, but he hadn’t been listed.

2187 shrugged. “It was a really last minute change. One of the other squads got called away to the front lines so mine was moved up.”

She nodded. “That’s great. It’s so good to finally see you again.” Her hand tightened around his wrist and his did the same. It had been five years, but it seemed like nothing had changed between them. She was about to say something else when his helmet shifted slightly. She recognized the movement even after all these years.

“I have to go check into my barracks,” he said with an apologetic shrug.

“We’ll talk later,” she promised with a smile.

He nodded and headed off. She stood there for a while, just staring after him, until she shook herself from her thoughts of the past. It was highly frowned upon for stormtroopers to interact too heavily with those outside of their rank and class. It might have been overlooked back when they were in training together, but not when they were full-fledged soldiers. By now, most of the non-essential personnel had already dispersed and gone back to their sections. Rey wasn’t due for her shift until they reached the planet, but a few of her squad-mates had asked her to look over their instruments since the interceptors had that last maintenance check.

There was only one interceptor squad aboard the _Finalizer_ and they had their own hangar due to their ship’s design requiring more space than the average TIE, so she headed there. She looked around as she left and realized that none of her squad-mates had waited for her. It wasn’t surprising, really, but she hadn’t thought any of them would be in that big of a rush to return to the hangar, either. She shrugged and left the noise of the main hangar behind and stepped out into the hallway. A few droids buzzed by her and a couple of patrols marched past, but the further away from the more populated deployment areas that she got, the emptier the corridor became. Her shoes clicked loudly along the polished floors and it was the only thing that her sensors registered which was why it came as a shock when someone called her designation.

“RY-4209,” came from directly behind her, and the voice had a modulation to it that could only belong to one person. She froze for a half second as she got her racing heart under control and turned around. Lord Ren stood far closer than she was comfortable with—close enough that she had to step back to make her salute or she’d have hit him. How had he snuck up on her? Rey’s mouth twisted. He watched her silently for a few seconds after her acknowledgment of his presence and rank. Kylo Ren had to be the creepiest person in the Order and apparently his lurking tendencies hadn’t diminished since her days on _Starkiller._

It was not uncommon for officers to call stormtroopers to their beds for one-offs. Some ‘troopers even deliberately had their helmets off when inspections were done; hoping they would catch the attention of a powerful superior. Rey had never done such a thing, herself, but she didn’t begrudge those who sought a bit of physical comfort where they could get it. With the less-than-subtle way Lord Ren had watched her during training, everyone had simply assumed that Lord Ren either had or would be calling for her. But he never had, which made his presence all the more confusing.

He was looking her over now, though she wasn’t sure what he would see. Rey was covered from head to toe in her black flight suit. He said nothing as his mask moved the slightest bid up and down and while she could not tell specifically what he was looking at due to his helmet, she could somewhat gage the approximate location of his attention. It eventually settled on the blue pauldron on her shoulder.

“You’ve done well for yourself,” he said finally, and she detected a hint of irritation even through the vocoder. “I even heard you are now leading an interceptor squad. Very impressive.”

Rey could not even begin to understand why or how he would have ‘heard’ about anything she was doing during the last five years. She was a pilot and he the master of the Knights of Ren. They had nothing to do with one another aside from his insistence on watching her.

“Thank you, sir,” she said anyway, and she was prepared for this to be the end of the conversation.

He didn’t dismiss her. “Remove your helmet,” he said instead, and Rey took another step back. She hesitated but she couldn’t disobey a direct order, and so she reached up and hit the latches. The helmet made a hissing noise as it was removed and she knew her hair was probably a mess, but it was his order and thus his problem. She didn’t look up towards his visor, instead focusing on a spot over his shoulder. Lord Ren’s mask tilted this way and that as he looked her face over silently. He didn’t return the favor by removing his own helmet, but then she hadn’t expected him to. Rey stood there silently as he examined her, her level of irritation rising as the seconds ticked by.

“I requested for you to remain on _Starkiller,_ ” he said suddenly, and it took her a second to process and understand what he was talking about. She blinked in confusion at the conversational turn. So _he_ had been the one to request that she stay on on the planet-weapon.

“I didn’t know that,” she said calmly. Not that it would have made a bit of difference when she’d left _Starkiller_ to get away from the Knight, and she’d be grateful as soon as this mission was over and he was well off of the ship.

“I will be making another request at the end of this mission,” he said, and her jaw tightened as she knew where this was headed. “You will accept my request and return to _Starkiller_ ,” he finished.

Rey wanted nothing more than to ask _why._ Why was he cornering her? Why was he ordering her away from the fight? But she couldn’t, of course. She couldn’t question the orders of a superior officer. So she nodded before adding a dull, “Yes, sir.”

Lord Ren continued to stare at her for a long moment before he turned and walked away without another word. Rey let out a breath she hadn’t known she’d been holding as she continued to digest the . . . dialogue that had just taken place. The entire exchange simply baffled her.

“Put your helmet back on,” a decidedly feminine, but no less authoritative, voice called from the hall beside her. Rey looked up and caught sight of Captain Phasma standing not far, her blaster at the ready. Rey hastily put her helmet back on, almost grateful for the extra layer of protection it gave her. It was easy to read a ‘trooper when they were so used to having their faces covered. Phasma had either seen or heard at least part of the exchange, judging by the way the woman hadn’t immediately left after issuing the order.

So Rey took a chance. “What would you do?” she asked, and Phasma did not even pretend to misunderstand.

“Follow orders,” she said steadily, and Rey deflated a bit at that before the captain added, “Technically, General Hux and Lord Ren are of equal standing; however the general is your current commanding officer. If General Hux orders you to stay, his orders supersede those of Lord Ren.”

Rey bit her lip. “General Hux is . . . _General Hux._ I can’t see him specifically ordering a pilot to stay,” she said with a defeated sigh.

Phasma was quiet for a moment and her body did not so much as twitch to give away what she must be thinking. “If the general knows Lord Ren is looking to poach a pilot from him . . . well, he has a tendency to get possessive of his resources.”

Rey looked back up quickly and allowed a hopeful smile to form. “ _Will_ he hear about it?”

Phasma snorted. “Of that, you can be assured.”

Rey full-on grinned behind her mask and she saluted her superior before walking off.


	2. Chapter 2

A day later, the _Finalizer_ was orbiting a planet that Rey had no memory of. This was her planet of origin but nothing about it was familiar—at least not from space. Nine years ago, some parts dealer had sold her to the First Order when she was thirteen. The first thing they had done was put her through multiple rounds of reconditioning. Rey didn’t remember much of that either. Her first memory was waking up in the barracks within the half-complete _Starkiller_. The Western Reaches were far from the front lines of the war, so she’d never even been back to this sector.

Looking at the planet from the observation deck, Rey could safely say she was glad to be rid of the memories. Jakku was almost painfully unremarkable. It was a dull tan shade interspersed with swirling white clouds. She’d read her own file years back and looked up the planet and its primary export: nearly obsolete ship parts. Scavengers eked out a living slowly pulling apart the remains of destroyers and rebellion battle cruisers that had crashed decades ago after a major battle in the last war.

That’s what Rey would be doing right now: day after day crawling around dusty, dirty ruins, hoping to find something valuable enough to put food on the table that night. If an Order ship hadn’t stopped by the planet looking for children to recruit, would she even be alive now? Or would poor access to medical facilities and the harsh environment have killed her long ago?

No, Jakku was a planet better left in the past.

“Rey, I’m headed for the hangars. You coming?” a voice sounded from behind her.

She turned and found 2187 standing in the entryway, his blaster held by his side.

“The resistance pilot has shown up?” she asked, sliding her helmet on and joining him out in the corridor.

2187 nodded and grinned. “Yeah. Lead us right to the village—in an _x-wing_.”

Rey snorted into her helmet. _Amateurs,_ she thought. The _Finalizer_ had been waiting in the shadow of one of Jakku’s moons for almost a day for the pilot to show up. While Jakku was mostly barren, there were dozens of small villages and outposts dotted around the planet. Rather than wasting time and resources searching them all, they’d only had to wait for the enemy pilot to lead them right to the people who had dared to work against the First Order.

“Which village?” she asked curiously, not that it mattered in any way.

“Tuanul,” he said, and she nodded though she’d never heard of the place before.

They came to the side hangar door where her interceptors were stationed. “Be safe, 2187. If you boys need our help, we’ve got your back,” she said. Multiple squads of TIE fighters and interceptors were always on standby in case an air strike was needed.

“This is your first mission, right?” she asked, though she already knew the answer. 2187 had been working sanitation the last few years on _Starkiller_ , well away from the front lines and the fighting.

“Yeah, Slip and I are gonna try to stick close to one another,” he said and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Slip had never been a good ‘trooper, and if anyone should have been working sanitation, it was him. 2187 was sticking close so he could protect the other man.

She sighed. “Don’t let him get you into trouble. Just fire your blaster at anything that moves and follow orders.” She clapped him on the shoulder. “You’ll be back before you know it and we’ll toast to your first battle over water rations.”

2187 nodded and she did an over-exaggerated salute before he broke away from her and headed towards the main hangar. Her smile slowly dropped as she stared after him. Rey would never voice it aloud, especially to ‘87, but she’d have much preferred if he was still safe back on _Starkiller._ But that was a rather disingenuous thought—after all, 2187 had some of the best marksman and physical combat scores when he'd finished training. He’d been on the leadership track under Captain Phasma, but at some point something had changed. She still didn’t know why 2187 had been placed in _sanitation_ of all places, but he never seemed unhappy when they discussed it.

It was just . . . odd.

Rey was about to head into her own hangar when she heard footsteps approaching. She turned and spotted Lord Ren making his way down the hall, followed by his squad of stormtroopers. She immediately saluted as was expected of her and stood off to the side and out of the way.

She silently cursed her bright blue pauldron for the first time in her life as the Knight stopped beside her and turned to face her. There weren’t any other female flight commanders, so he didn’t even have to ask if it was her.

“I do not think we will require an airstrike on this mission,” he said, looking her over.

Even though she wore her helmet as per regulation, she still felt . . . exposed before the Knight. “I couldn’t say, sir,” she said.

“But you have something to _say,_ none the less,” he said, leaning closer.

“Standard procedure for military raids has all flight squads on alert and standby as per General Hux’s rules for combat,” she responded calmly.

The Knight moved forward a step. “General Hux is not the foremost authority on battle strategy,” he said, and she could hear the agitation in his voice even through the vocoder.

“Supreme Leader Snoke trusts him to lead our fleet in the war against the Republic,” she pointed out. It was all at once the right and wrong thing to say to the volatile Knight. He stepped forward again but Rey held her ground.

“You prefer _Hux_ to me?” he asked heatedly, and her brow furrowed in response.

Why was _Kylo Ren_ acting like this? “I have no preference or opinion on my superiors,” she said primly.

He scoffed at her. “I think you have more than your fair share of opinions.” The ‘towards him’ was left off but they both heard it.

She was about to respond—and probably get herself run through by that crazy looking lightsaber of his—when one of his squad ‘troopers stepped forward. “Lord Ren, our departure window is closing. The other troops are already on the ground.”

Ren nodded shortly before looking back at her. “You and I will speak again,” he said as he turned and walked away. The ‘troopers followed behind him and she waited until the corridor had emptied completely before taking a breath and letting her body uncoil. Rey didn’t know what the Knight’s problem with her was. Perhaps she’d done something to offend him at some point.

It was a topic for another day, though, she thought as she slipped into the hangar. If their troops were already on the ground, then she should have already been inside her ship, ready to go. The place was buzzing with activity from the maintenance crew but sure enough, all the pilots were in their ships. Ten eyed her from his cockpit and she knew he wanted to say something about her tardiness, but if he did it would be recorded through the comms.

She ignored him as she hopped up into her interceptor and plugged her comm unit into the ship so that she would be connected to the ground and cognizant of their needs. Rey could hear the sounds of blaster fire already ebbing away. A short battle, as expected, but there was still no word on the enemy pilot. Rey also heard bridge orders being given to scan the surface in case the pilot had been able to escape.

Lord Ren had been right, of course. This battle was not expected to require an air strike. The primary need for the flight crew on standby was the very real possibility that the Resistance fighter would manage to escape and they needed to be ready to engage before he used his hyperdrive.

Rey’s lips pursed as she heard Kylo Ren speaking to someone and then killing them. His family? She supposed it wouldn’t be surprising that he had family out there. Almost everyone in the First Order came from somewhere else. He would have had a mother and father at least—assuming he was human under that mask. He was built like a human and his head was in roughly the right place with five fingers on each hand. But humans weren’t the only species with those features. Most of the First Order was human because it was simply easier to mass produce clothing, instruments, medicine etc. for one species. The Knights, however, were on a completely different level and the rules didn’t apply to them. Whoever his family was, Lord Ren seemed quite unhappy to have his past mentioned.

A new voice appeared over the comm. _The pilot,_ she thought. Rey took her hands off of her controls as she listened to the enemy fighter try to make light of the situation. That is, until Lord Ren ordered the destruction of the village. Years ago, when Rey had participated in her first air support strike, she’d been ordered to destroy a village that was stockpiling weapons. She’d shot down person after person as they attempted to escape the destruction, and with every death she felt like a scream had echoed through her mind.

Until the noise all bled together and she barely heard it anymore. Those that died were enemies of the Order. This village had harbored an enemy and there were consequences for such actions.

She and the others waited silently for almost two hours until the standby order was eventually cancelled and she slumped back into her seat with a sigh. Rey watched as the other pilots disengaged their comms and began speaking to one another—normally she’d have joined them.

But she was feeling off today.

Seeing Kylo Ren again . . . It brought back far too many painful feelings and memories from her time in training. Not just with Lord Ren but . . . the other Knight. Tahre Ren had never worn a mask and she’d been able to see into his expressive eyes when he’d smiled at her. She’d been so young and so _stupid_ to have bought into his lies. He might have given Rey her name, but that was all he’d given her—and he’d taken so much when he’d left. She snorted softly. He’d gotten what he wanted from her and he’d beat it back to Korriban the following day. She hadn’t seen or heard from him since.

Rey missed him sometimes—when she allowed herself to even think of him. She missed his sweet words and even sweeter touches in the dark, but it had all been a lie; a ruse to pass his time on _Starkiller_ before being called away. It was a hard lesson, but one she appreciated even if it still hurt. You can’t rely on anyone because they always leave in the end.

 _Well . . . 2187 hadn’t left,_ she thought with a smile. While she rathered he’d stayed on Starkiller, far from the casualty-heavy front, she also loved having him around again. Perhaps she could put in a good word with Phasma and her friend could be reassigned to the _Finalizer_. He’d just had his first battle and her telemetry readouts said he was still alive and headed back to the _Finalizer_.

Rey eventually hopped down from the ship and headed for the main hangar. She’d promised him a small celebration of this milestone, afterall. The transports had obviously just arrived as the halls were filled with stormtroopers, dirty and dusty from the planet, walking in formation, but none of them were 2187 so she continued on into the hangar. She looked around, her scanner moving over every ‘trooper, looking for a single designation.

She was so focused on finding 2187 that she nearly missed the prisoner being escorted out. He was jerking at the ‘trooper who held on to him and she let her eyes move over the impressively handsome man. His dark eyes and hair, along with a sun-kissed complexion, made her pause to take a second look because she instantly recognized him.

It would only a be a matter of time before the Order identified him, but Rey knew him by sight. _Poe Dameron,_ the best pilot in the Resistance. He was a _legend_ even amongst the Order pilots. What Rey wouldn’t have given to fly with him . . . she sighed. He would probably be executed in a day or two after the interrogators were done with him. He would be given the option of reconditioning, but a man like that would assuredly choose death instead. _What a waste,_ she thought before she spotted 2187 and promptly forgot about the enemy pilot.


	3. Chapter 3

_ She was still the same as she’d been back during training, _ Kylo Ren thought as he continued down the corridor after speaking to RY-4209,  _ albeit a bit colder and jaded. _ But that was only to be expected in a First Order soldier, pilot or otherwise. And she was a commander, now, over an interceptor squad; the fastest ships in the Order fleet and reserved for the best pilots because they were so expensive to produce.

He entered the hangar and looked around at the tightly formed lines of ‘troopers. 2187 was among them but Kylo couldn’t be bothered to pick his mind out of the crowd. The sanitation worker should not have even been there. Kylo Ren had seen his mind—knew he was a bomb waiting to explode if provoked. He’d had the former protegé sent to sanitation so he could fall into obscurity on  _ Starkiller _ . He’d have killed the man entirely if RY-4209 wasn’t already so attached.

Kylo wasn’t jealous, of course. 4209’s affection for the ‘trooper was simply in the way of Kylo’s observations. And he  _ had _ observed her . . . for years. RY-4209 was not strong in the Force—but her connection was undeniable. Her above average skills as a pilot were merely one manifestation of that connection. Others could emerge if nurtured, but Kylo had never been quite sure if he should bother. She wasn’t strong enough to make a good Knight, and if he’d forced the issue she’d have been at the bottom of a very dark and ravenous food chain instead of flying high as a commander over her own squad.

Even knowing this, he’d never been far from her during her training. From the first moment he’d laid eyes on her, he’d known she would be important to him, even if she wasn’t important to the Order and to Snoke. But she’d left . . . His fingers clenched. She should have been stationed on  _ Starkiller _ , safe and well away from the front. _ And within his grasp. _

But then that ginger rat-faced bastard had requested for her to join his crew on the  _ Finalizer _ . She’d been given a choice . . . he’d made sure of it—expecting her to choose to stay on base. But she hadn’t. She’d left for the front lines and Ren could still picture Hux’s smug face as they’d gone over the manifests before his departure.

Kylo forced her away from his thoughts as they flew down to the planet. He needed to be sharp as this was a delicate operation. The ship trembled a bit as it landed on the sand and the ramp lowered. A few ‘troopers ran out ahead of him but the situation had already been secured by the initial forces and the villagers corralled in the center of the primitive settlement.

An old man was led forward; he was the head of the village, and Kylo Ren instantly recognized him. The history teacher from the academy: Lor Sen Tekka. One of his uncle’s oldest friends. There was still no sign of the enemy pilot, but his ship had been damaged so he would not get far.

Tekka attempted—poorly—to appeal to his better nature, but that had been butchered years ago by the very family that the old man was hoping to use to save his own life. Kylo allowed the man to yammer on for a few minutes until he became too irritated to listen anymore. Striking Tekka down was an experience Kylo savored for the few seconds he could before he felt a disturbance in the Force and threw out a field of power to catch the blaster bolt.

The Resistance pilot’s shocked countenance would have been amusing, had the circumstances been different. The pilot was dragged over and forced to his knees. He spoke as well, insolent as most Resistance fighters were in the face of capture and death. The pilot’s mind was easily subverted and Kylo caught flashes of the old man handing off the datachip.

It was clear that he didn’t have the map but he knew where it was. “Put him on board,” Kylo said before Captain Phasma walked up behind him. One of Hux’s favorites, no doubt sent to keep an eye on him. Still, she did her job rather efficiently.

“Sir,” she said calmly, “the villagers.” Phasma had no sympathy for the enemy, even defenseless sentients, it seemed.

“Kill them all,” he said, and the pilot protested as he was dragged away. Phasma ordered her troops to fire and Kylo paused to do a quick mental scan around the area for any other hiding survivors, of people who were not in line with the Order.

He blinked behind his mask and turned slightly. There was one . . . a mind that was horrified and confused. His mask tilted as his gaze landed on a lone stormtrooper with a set of bloody stripes running down his helmet.

That trooper . . . FN-2187. His first planet-side mission and he’d choked and failed despite all those glowing recommendations during his training days. It was as Kylo had predicted all those years ago. The Knight contemplated killing the ‘trooper right then and there—it was a raid, after all, and stormtroopers died. But if RY-4209 found out . . . Kylo clenched his fist before turning away and walking back towards his ship.

Phasma stood closeby, overseeing the rest of the operation, and he paused beside her. “FN-2187 is in need of reconditioning. He did not fire.”

The captain gazed at him before looking at the lone ‘trooper. “Yes, sir,” she said, and he boarded his ship again. The pilot had been put in binders and he glared at Kylo as the vessel took off and headed back to the  _ Finalizer _ .

Kylo’s vessel was the first to arrive back on the  _ Finalizer _ and the pilot was wide-eyed at the sight of the massive ship, his eyes darting about in awe. The Resistance didn’t have ships like this. They were usually smaller and faster vessels that could escape battles easily rather than the large, intimidating ships favored by the Order and the Empire before that. Kylo remembered a similar reaction the first time he’d arrived on a Star Destroyer. The Knight had had a mask though and no one had seen his face and appreciation.

Ren gave orders to have the pilot taken to the detention block for interrogation. He would give the interrogators a chance to fail before he got the information himself. _ And won’t that just chafe at Hux, _ Kylo thought with a wry smile as he made his way through the ship toward his quarters.

‘Troopers and officers practically leaped out of his way as he strode down the corridors, and he took silent pleasure in unnerving the general’s crew. He came to a stop in front of his quarters and his hand waved over the panel beside the door. He stepped inside when it slid open and his moderately-positive mood evaporated when his eyes found said ginger-headed general already there, standing calmly amongst Kylo’s things. The man was clearly aware of Kylo’s entrance, but was ignoring him in favor of examining the . . . remnant of his grandfather, a look of disgust on his face that Kylo itched to remove with his lightsaber. 

How dare the little shitstain break into his quarters.

The Knight’s fingers moved towards his weapon, intent on ending the man and  _ damn _ the consequences when Hux finally spoke. “I do not like finding out that  _ guests _ on _ my own ship _ are looking to poach my people. My _ best _ people,” he said calmly as he finally turned to look Ren in the eye, or as much as he could through the thin visor.

Kylo gave nothing away physically but he knew who the other man spoke about. There was really only one person, though he hadn’t credited Hux with giving two shits about one pilot, even when it clearly got under Ren’s skin.

Kylo kept his voice even. “RY-4209 has served with you for five years. There is a new flight program being created and she was suggested as an ideal candidate to be an instructor,” he said. The program had been backburnered for years until now and Kylo fully intended to get it started up again . . . once 4209 was back planetside on _ Starkiller _ .

Hux’s lips twitched with a sneer. “You’re a terrible liar, Ren. You were back on  _ Starkiller _ when you went head to head with me over her assignment and you  _ still are _ .”

Kylo snorted. “And you are transparent in your intentions. Your petty attempts to subvert me by stealing a single pilot have not gone unnoticed.”

The general snorted out a laugh. “I would imagine not. Just as it was noticed that even with the choice you allowed her, she chose  _ active combat _ in the front rather than having you stalk her like an obsessed teenage boy after his first crush.”

“How dare you! You know nothing—” Kylo began, his temper flaring.

Hux interrupted angrily. “I know enough. I really couldn't care less about who you moon over on your own time. But the officers and even the ‘troopers have noticed how you have  _ distracted _ a  _ squad commander  _ from her assignments and I won’t let you drag her off course any more. She stays here.”

Kylo’s mouth pinched into an ugly shape, and he harshly searched the other man’s mind for a weakness; something he could exploit. The general’s face froze before turning slightly red as he struggled to keep his expression from changing despite the obvious pain. Kylo took so much malicious glee in being the cause of the man’s mental shrieking.

But then he pulled away and his mask tilted. “You ride in here so offended but you are just seeking to use her to subvert  _ me.” _

“Hardly,” Hux choked out as he mentally shut the pain away and got his breathing under control.

Kylo walked closer, his voice low. “You want to make her an officer and put yet another person who is loyal to you in a position of power within the fleet. You seek to surround the Knights with your own followers and make us obsolete,” he hissed out angrily.

How had he missed such subterfuge by  _ Hux _ of all people? The man had all the delicacy of an axe to the back of one’s head. Kylo would need to inform the Knights so that they could begin rooting these saboteurs out.

Hux finally managed to get ahold of himself and he glared at Kylo with so much burning hatred. “Your little magic tricks mean  _ nothing _ in the grand scheme of this war and this galaxy. The Sith, the Jedi: all once great peoples, _ conquerors _ until they  _ destroyed _ one another,” Hux spat out heatedly. “You may hold blindly on to the past because you think it assures your power, but history has taught me a very different lesson. The extinction of the Force-users is the galaxy’s way of telling us all that relics like you are no longer needed.”

Kylo trembled with rage at the very idea that their dwindling numbers signaled the end of his people. “And the Supreme Leader?” he asked snidely, “Is he a  _ relic _ as well?”

Hux smiled but it was entirely vainglorious and put Kylo’s teeth on edge. “The Supreme Leader,” he began softly, carefully, “does not rely on Force-users to impose his will. He relies on the very  _ human _ fleet that _ I _ have built for him. You and your Knights are merely the dogs he keeps chained to his side until you grow too vicious and need to be put down.”

Kylo’s blade ignited but Hux, irritatingly, did not even flinch as the red glow of death filled the small dark room. Hux actually  _ stepped forward _ even closer. “You want to drag this . . .  _ girl _ down with you into oblivion—I won’t stop you,” he said as he passed close by, “But if you care about her as you so obviously do . . . you’ll leave her be,” he said as he walked away and out of the room.

Kylo’s eyes slid shut before his temper got the better of him and his quarters were incinerated by the fiery rage of his lightsaber. 

* * *

The general could hear the screaming of the Knight as he destroyed the room Hux had just left. He shivered slightly as he thought over how close to death he’d just come. All for a nobody girl that Hux had only taken to spite Ren five years ago. Phasma had kept an eye on her since then and the reports had always been bordering on glowing, but that was to be expected if she’d managed to live this long. He entered his own quarters and sat down at the desk, silent and still for a few minutes as he got his racing heart back to a more steady rhythm. 

He sighed but could not stop himself from picking up a datapad and pulling RY-4209’s record up. She was . . . pretty in an average way, he supposed, but nothing to get worked up about, and certainly not enough to warrant the lasting attention of the master of the Knights of Ren. Her flight scores during training and current records of achievement were what made her important—to Hux anyway.

She had already showed exemplary leadership skills when handed her own command, and she would make an excellent officer. He’d intended to recommend her for the commission if she performed well as a commander and, after this mission with Ren was complete, he’d begin the paperwork for her promotion. She was so young but she’d already proven herself at the front . . . and because of what she’d done in the name of the Order. 

Contrary to popular belief, Hux knew the value of life—knew the type of pain that came with having your loved ones ripped from you so violently. The purpose of death in war was not to destroy the individual or even an army but to cast the widest net of suffering on the people who remained. 

Which was why, when he’d seen a civilian carrier ship holding over a thousand people shot down and destroyed during the last conflict, he’d immediately ordered his people to find out who had done it. RY-4209,  _ without orders, _ had destroyed the civilian ship after receiving comm chatter that an enemy leader was aboard and attempting to escape the slaughter of the Resistance military complex on the planet below.

She’d followed the ship from the surface and into space and destroyed its engines before it could jump. It was fairly obvious that she’d only meant to incapacitate the ship, but the explosion of the engine had set off a chain reaction that had destroyed the ship. But she hadn’t paused after the bloodshed. She’d returned to the surface and, after discovering that her commander had been killed, she continued coordinating the attack with the other TIES.

He’d spoken to her personally afterwards to brief her on the unauthorized attack.  RY-4209 had been calm, almost numb, the first time he’d seen her sitting alone in the tiny room. She’d already been injected with a cocktail of agents that were normally used on prisoners during interrogations. Hux had never had to question a ‘trooper on his or her actions before. They did their jobs and they died following orders. That was their purpose. In the event that a ‘trooper showed any signs of discontent with the Order or independence from their mission, they were normally sent directly to reconditioning. But Hux was nothing if not smart enough to spot an opportunity when it was presented to him.

“Why did you shoot that ship down?” he’d asked gently.

“The enemy,” she said slowly. “Our mission was to kill or incapacitate General 

Bakin Lor Xan. He was on that ship.”

“Your mission was to destroy the Resistance compound, not to go after a specific individual,” he corrected softly.

She’d looked up at him, stricken. “I . . . I regret disobeying my orders,” she said, and Hux had tilted his head slightly.

“But you don’t regret your actions . . . do you?” he’d asked.

RY-4209 stared at him for a few seconds before she’d shaken her head. “No,” she whispered finally, and he’d allowed a satisfied smile to pull at his features.

“Don’t worry, my dear . . . Rey, is it?” he’d asked, knowing full well what the answer was.

She’d smiled a bit then and her face transformed before she’d said, “You know my name. That’s . . . really nice.”

Hux had nearly dropped his own smile and he’d been silent, the only sound in the room being the uncomfortable shift of the ‘trooper who stood guard behind him. The general hadn’t said another word to her or anyone else after that. He’d simply gotten up and left the room.

Stormtroopers, even pilots, should not have personal feelings such as what she’d displayed towards him. Hux was tempted to send her directly to reconditioning anyway, despite his possible plans, but he’d decided against it. RY-4209 would remember her embarrassing statement to her general and she would know that he’d spared her mind and memories anyway.

And she would be loyal.

He’d made her a squad commander and, judging by the way Phasma had described her repeated rebuffs of Kylo Ren’s advances on her, she would make an excellent addition to Hux’s expanding network of supporters. She obviously had some minor Force-sensitivity, but she’d never been trained in the art and Kylo Ren had never seemed interested in taking her for the Knights. But he  _ was _ interested in her, nonetheless. It was baffling to Hux, but he would keep an eye on the situation.


	4. Chapter 4

Rey couldn’t get 2187 out of her head. He’d seemed . . . off when she’d met up with him after the raid. He hadn’t been able to make eye-contact with her, and she’d asked him what was wrong but he’d only shaken his head. It was unlike her friend to just close off like that. When she’d asked about the bloody stripes on his helmet, he’d deflated even further.

“Slip . . .” he said, and she’d nodded. It didn’t surprise her that the below-average ‘trooper had been killed on his very first raid. 2187 had always stood up for the other ‘trooper when others would have given up.

“He wouldn’t want you to wallow in grief like this, ‘87,” she’d said gently.

“I don’t—I don’t think I can do this anymore,” he said, looking at her, his eyes pleading for understanding.

Rey didn’t gasp but she was taken aback. “You don’t mean that. You’re in shock. It was your first battle, but I promise it gets easier.”

“Even the killing?” he asked. “That gets easier?”

“Yes,” she said, leaning away. “Even that.”

He’d looked away from her and all but pulled away from her comforting touch. “I—I need to report to Captain Phasma’s division for reconditioning. I—I’ll talk to you later,” he said before getting up.

She watched him leave and her heart clenched. She’d said the wrong thing. Rey didn’t know what she should have said, but her words had not helped her friend. The conversation played over and over in her mind for the next few hours as she handled writing out a few reports and doing maintenance checks.

She was in the middle of testing for fluctuations in one of the ion engines when the first explosions rocked the ship. She fell forward and hit the side of the vessel—hard. Her chest plate dug in painfully as she pulled herself back to her feet.

Ten, who had been walking by, hadn’t been so lucky and he had fallen into a stack of ammunition crates and hit his head. She helped him up and he had a cut on his cheek, but it didn’t look deep.

Another explosion sounded but this time, they kept their feet. The pilots in the hangar were all looking around in confusion

“Did that come from the main hangar?” Ten asked and she shook her head.

Her voice was loud so that it would carry through the entire space. “I don’t know, but everyone suit up and go on standby. If that shield drops, be ready to go!” she called before hopping into her ship. More explosions went off and she was almost positive by then that it was coming from the main hangar. Were they under attack?

“Status update!” she said into her comms, looking for orders from the bridge.

“Orders pending. Standby,” came the response.

Rey hated waiting but the explosions had stopped. At first she’d thought that perhaps it was an accident, but then she heard the turbo lasers firing. There was something going on out there!

“Orders?” she asked again.

“Interceptors grounded,” the tech said and Rey could not stop the, “What!” that bubbled up.

“Shielding around your hangar has been damaged,” he explained though they both knew he hadn’t needed to. She knew what that meant. If they dropped the deflector shield to allow the ships through, the entire section would decompress.  _ They were stuck. _ Her hand slammed down on the console and she ripped her helmet off. 

The others in her squad looked to her for guidance so she called out, “We’re grounded!”

“What’s going on?” one of the pilots called out.

Rey didn’t have an answer for the man but she intended to find out. Protocol dictated that ‘troopers and pilots report and stay at their designated stations during an attack, but neither she nor anyone else would be going anywhere. She jumped out and headed for Ten’s ship. “Let’s get you to medical and get that checked out,” she said.

“I don’t need you to hold my hand,” he said as he climbed down.

“Don’t worry, I’m just using you as an excuse to find out what’s going on,” she said as they walked towards the hangar door. Her hand moved over the control panel and she nearly stepped forward but caught herself as she blinked in confusion. She waved her hand and Ten tried as well but it wouldn’t open. Others from the squad came up behind them but the door was stuck. There was still power but nothing was happening.

“It was a traitor,” one of them whispered and she grimaced. It was standard procedure for all decks and compartments to be locked during times of suspected sabotage.

“We don’t know that,” she said, and even she didn’t believe her words. “We wait for orders.”

Twenty minutes later the doors finally opened and she and the others submitted to a few routine scans, but then another set of stormtroopers came through the door. Their black pauldrons gleamed ominously and she knew who they belonged to. Phasma came in last, her blaster at the ready as she halted in front of Rey. 

“I need you to come with me,” she said, and Rey tried not to be bothered that the older woman hadn’t told her to put her helmet back on. The pilot nodded and followed after the chrome ‘trooper. Her squad all looked at her in confusion as she walked out, but Rey did not acknowledge it at all. She kept her eyes ahead of her even as she realized they were on their way to the detention block.

She didn’t ask what was going on. No one would answer her, even Captain Phasma, and one did not question one’s orders. They didn’t manhandle her, though, for which she was grateful, but when General Hux’s ginger locks came into view, she wilted slightly. Whatever it was . . . it was bad. 

He didn’t nod at her or acknowledge her in any way as the door opened and she was greeted with the sight of Kylo Ren standing within. She took a sharp, involuntary breath and looked back at the general. He met her eyes and she could see that he was furious over something. She did not ask him what was happening; did not ask him why she was there. She would not embarrass herself or him by saying anything to the man.

She steeled her nerves and turned back to face the open doorway. The dark figure inside stared at her from behind a table and he nearly blended into the shadows of the dimly lit interrogation room. Rey stepped inside and the doors slid shut behind her. They were alone and it was the first time she’d noticed that there was no interrogation rack, just the table and chairs.

“Sit,” he said simply, gesturing towards the chair closest to her. 

She obeyed and sat straight in the hard metal chair. Lord Ren was silent for a while before he pulled out a small holo unit and set it down on the table before her.

He hit a button and an image formed above the unit in washed out blues and greys. A stormtrooper was leading the enemy pilot down the hall, walking quickly before ducking into a side venting chamber.

The ‘trooper spoke and Rey froze at the voice, “Listen carefully: you do exactly as I say and I can get you out of here.”

_ No, _ she thought,  _ it can’t be. _ But the ‘trooper removed his helmet and it was _ him _ , FN-2187. 

The two spoke hurriedly for a few seconds before Dameron asked, “Why are you doing this?” Rey wanted an answer to that as well.

“Because it’s the right thing to do.” ‘87 replied and Rey’s jaw tightened.

The pilot wasn’t buy it, apparently. “You need a pilot.”

‘87 seemed chagrined but he nodded in agreement. “I need a pilot.”

Rey’s head shook in confusion as the two conversed and made a plan to get a TIE fighter and escape. She licked her very parched lips as 2187 put his helmet back on and the pair made their way towards the hangars. No one stopped them or even looked in their direction as they made their way through the ship. 

“Why don’t we take one of those?” Dameron asked as they passed the first hangar,  _ her _ hangar, she realized with a sinking feeling. She’d been in there doing checks on her ship and hadn’t even known what was going on just outside the door.

“No,” ‘87 said, “Not that hangar.”

The recording cut off and she sat in shocked silence until Lord Ren finally spoke.

“You and FN-2187 are close. You were in fact the last person he spoke to before taking the enemy pilot,” he said and she didn’t ask how he knew either of those things. The Knight had no doubt been watching her.

“I—I thought we were,” she said hesitantly, remembering the way he hadn’t been able to look at her during their last conversation. But even during training, 2187 had never really smiled at her like he had at that pilot, that  _ Poe Dameron. _ Despite their friendship, it was almost hammered into them to never get too close, because then it would hurt that much more when you lost a teammate.

And it  _ did _ hurt. Rey did not allow her hand to rest over her heart as she longed to. That would have given away far too much weakness. But her mind was still in turmoil. 2187 had attacked and deserted the First Order with the help of an _ enemy.  _ Kylo Ren’s questions were standard at first.

“Were you aware that FN-2187 harbored doubts about the First Order?” he asked.

She hesitated. “He was in a state of shock after the raid on Jakku. He wasn’t in his right mind—”

“Were you aware that he planned to desert the Order?”

“No,” she said quickly.

“Would you have helped him, had he asked?” It was not a standard question.

Rey’s mouth formed around the automatic ‘no’ but she paused. He was in her mind—testing her, feeling out her answers and she really thought about what she would have done. Her friend had needed a pilot to escape for some reason, but he hadn’t come to her; he’d trusted a prisoner—the enemy—to help him.

Her eyes shut and she sighed. “No,” she said finally, and she meant it. She would have tried to help him accept his life in the First Order, maybe would have spoken to Phasma about having him reassigned to a non-violent duty, perhaps back in sanitation—but she would not have let him leave. Stormtroopers did not desert; they owed the Order everything.

Lord Ren said nothing and he walked around her back towards the door but she stopped him. “Please. It was his first raid and he was confused,” she said

The Knight halted but she could not see him unless she turned around. “He is a traitor.”

She swallowed heavily. “I know he’ll require reconditioning, but that pilot must have done something down on the planet or when they got back here. FN-2187 has been loyal to the Order his entire life. He wouldn’t have thrown that all away.”

Lord Ren began to walk back towards her and he came around to sit at the table. “You truly believe that,” he said after a moment.

She nodded quickly and was about to respond when the comm chimed. “Enter,” Ren called, and the door slid open behind her. She didn’t turn to look but she heard the unmistakable rustle of an officer’s uniform.

“Sir. We’ve combed the village on Jakku where the droid was last spotted but we were unable to acquire it,” the officer spoke in a small voice. Ren was looking over her shoulder at the unfortunate man and she shrunk down in her chair slightly as if that would get her out of the line of fire.

The man continued, “It escaped capture aboard a stolen Corellian YT model freighter approximately two hours ago.”

Ren’s mask tilted a bit and Rey could almost feel his anger rippling under the surface. “The droid,” he said, deceptively calm, “stole a freighter.”

Rey gulped and she felt badly for the officer holding Ren’s full attention.

“Not exactly, sir. It had help,” he said and silence reigned so the man continued, “We have no confirmation, but we believe FN-2187 may have helped in the escape—”

“Leave us.” Ren cut the other man off and Rey’s eyes slid shut as she processed what had been said. 2187 had absconded not just with the pilot but also some droid that Lord Ren was looking for? What exactly was going on? The door shut once more and they were alone. 

The Knight looked back at her. “Do you still believe so strongly in your friend?” he asked.

She bit her lip and tried to mentally figure out if she was really willing to stick her neck out that far.  _ Yes, _ she decided after only a fraction of a second, she was. Because 2187 would do the same for her.

“He couldn’t have been the only person to take the droid off-planet,” she said quickly, and Ren remained silent so she hurried on, “He said it himself, he needed a pilot. The Resistance man is obviously still with him and has coerced him into doing as he says.”

It sounded flimsy, even to her own ears.

Ren was silent, his mask and visor fathomless. She could not glean anything about what he might be thinking as he got up again and began to circle the table, his finger dragging along the surface. 

“I should not have left you alone,” he said, and her brow furrowed as he came closer. “You would not have been the best Knight,” he continued, coming to stand behind her. His hands came down to rest on her shoulders and she flinched as he bent over so his mask was beside her face. “But at least you would not be so  _ weak.” _

Her eyes widened and Rey took a sharp breath. “I’m not weak,” she insisted.

The Knight snorted before straightening up again. “Your continued pleas for that traitor are  _ disgusting _ and beneath you.”

She shook her head. “I’m no different than he is. We trained together—” she began.

“But you have not  _ fought _ together. You have become a respected pilot and one of the youngest squad commanders in Order history. FN-2187 is a  _ sanitation worker _ and he could not even pull the trigger when ordered to. He is not your comrade; not your brother. You owe him  _ nothing,”  _ Lord Ren said, and he almost sounded angry with her, which made no sense.

“He’s—he was . . .” She couldn’t say it. Not aloud and barely even in her own thoughts, but Lord Ren still stood behind her and, even though she could not see him, she could feel his hand hovering beside her face.

“Someone you cared about,” he said with narrowed eyes. “Someone who left you. 2187, he . . . comforted you.”

Rey felt him in her mind, gliding through her thoughts almost as gently as a serpent through water. She trembled as memories of Tahre Ren surfaced unwillingly in her mind. “That’s all in the past,” she insisted.

The Knight moved away then, his hand and presence leaving her thoughts. “If it was, you would not be sitting here risking your position— _ your very life, _ to defend that traitor.”

Sadness and anger at the violation by Lord Ren swirled around in her mind, the combination making her rash. “Why are you doing this? Why are you sitting here rifling through my mind and belittling me? I’m nothing to you—or is that how you like it?”

It was a risk to say such things to Kylo Ren, but he didn’t seem angry at her words.

“You are not nothing.” he said simply, “Your connection to the Force is limited but not . . . intangible—and I am not an unreasonable man. If your . . .  _ friend  _ returns to us willingly. I will not execute him . . . and if he tells us everything he learns about the Resistance, I’ll even let him live. Reconditioned and sent back for training, but alive.”

Hope sprang up in her mind. “If I can speak to him—tell him it’s alright—he’ll come back, I know it. He’s probably just scared now—”

The door chimed again cutting Rey off, and Lord Ren once again called for the person to enter. She stayed quiet as the same officer from before was forced to face the Knight again.

“Sir, one of our informants has reported sighting the droid.”

“Where.”

“A drinking establishment on Takodana.”

“Set a course and get us there. Now.”

The man scurried away and the door shut again. Ren still stood behind her, out of her view. “It looks like you will have your opportunity to . . . talk to 2187.”

“Thank you,” she said, and she nearly closed her eyes in relief.

“But,” he continued as he walked past her and made his way over to a panel in the wall. It opened and she saw a selection of tools and weapons. Rey didn’t breathe as his hand glided over the items before pulling out a blaster. The panel closed and he walked back over to her, setting the weapon down. “If he does not return of his own free will . . . your mission is to kill him.”

She stared down at the blaster, trepidation shooting through her.

Lord Ren leaned towards her. “He knows too much about the Order—about  _ Starkiller _ —and he can’t be allowed to make it to the Resistance base.” The Knight paused, looking over her anxious face. “You can still back out. We both know it would be easier to simply bomb the place.”

Rey shook her head. “I . . . I can do it,” she said, reaching over and taking the blaster. She was being tested, she realized. For what, Rey was unsure, but she was confident that she wouldn’t need the weapon.

He didn’t seem surprised at her response and his tone became brisk. “Good. Now, one more thing. The droid that is with him; a BB unit belonging to Poe Dameron. Find the droid. I assume you know how to manually deactivate it. It is carrying a navigational chip. Get the chip and bring it back. If you do that for me, I will grant 2187 a full pardon.”

Rey nodded quickly. She would find 2187 and the droid and bring them back to the Order. 2187 would be punished for deserting, but he would be alive. 

“Go and change your attire,” he said, “and report to the main hangar in one hour.”

“Yes, sir,” she answered, getting up. She saluted before turning and heading for the exit. The door slid open and General Hux was gone, but Phasma was still there. She was about to step out when Lord Ren called one last thing.

“If you do not complete your mission, pilot—if you fail to eliminate the threat, your life will be forfeit along with FN-2187.”

She shivered a bit as her eyes met the visor of Phasma’s helmet. “Yes, sir.”


	5. Chapter 5

Rey tugged on the sleeves of her civilian clothing as she piloted the almost unwieldy freighter down to the planet. It was an ancient unmarked ship used for scouting and surveillance and not at all able to produce the graceful movements of a TIE interceptor. She eventually set the ship down on one of the many landing pads dotted around the palace of Maz Kanata. 

Rey deliberately chose a pad a bit further out and away from the other ships and the palace. If reinforcements were called in, they were told to focus on the buildings and she was instructed to get back to her ship and to wait inside until the bombing was over. Rey got out of the ship and looked around at the lush green planet. She stood there marveling at it all for a few minutes.

She’d never been so close to so much green. 

In that moment, she hoped 2187 would give up and return with her. It would be a shame to destroy such beauty. Rey began walking through the paths worn into the grass by a thousand other travelers and her hand came out to run along the moist leaves of the foliage that surrounded her. It was the first time she’d ever breathed in anything but filtered air either through her helmet or on a ship, and the scents and sounds were almost overwhelming.

But the darkness beyond the sunspotted path and the threat of what she might encounter inside the bar still concerned her. She’d never been  _ anywhere _ alone before.  The  _ Finalizer _ orbited the planet above and she took a small bit of comfort that if she needed help, they were just a comm away.

Her clothing got a little wet in the dewy morning air as the plants and trees brushed against her clothing. They were lighter and airier than her flight suit and she again felt more than a little exposed with no helmet, but none of that mattered now. She just needed to find 2187 and drag him back to the Order. Rey wasn’t sure if Kylo Ren had even noticed that the blaster he’d given her had a ‘stun’ setting, but she would be taking full advantage of the feature if required. She wasn’t killing her friend. Not today, at least.

The bar eventually came into view and she stopped to look it over for a second. It was quite . . . beautiful. The dossier had said it was an ancient palace belonging to an ancient being and, taking in the stunningly intricate architecture, she could believe it. There was overgrowth on the sides and it was crumbling in a few places. Rey moved closer and marveled at the multitudes of peoples that must have passed through its doors for it to be marked by the so many colorful flags and banners. They hung on long ropes, strung from rooftop to rooftop above the courtyard. 

There was a statue that depicted a sentient in a welcoming pose, but Rey was hard-pressed to feel anything but apprehensive. She continued forward and again paused outside the double doors, taking a breath and preparing herself to enter. Rey felt completely out of her depth and . . . afraid. FN-2187 was in there, though. The freighter that he and the pilot had taken from Jakku was still parked on the other side of the complex.

Rey steeled herself and pushed the door open. Her senses almost exploded with the music, the scents, and the sight of so many sentients sitting around the establishment together. Some looked her way, drawn by the light from outside, and she quickly shut the door behind her. It was dark and her eyes struggled to adjust quickly as she scanned the establishment, looking frantically for her friend or the droid or even the pilot, Poe Dameron. 

Her gaze eventually met that of another human female who watched her curiously. The woman’s dark makeup and skin-tight monochromatic outfit made her stand out amongst the crowd of more casually-attired sentients, but she seemed quite at home on the lap of a duwotin male. 

The woman’s eyes were sharp and calculating. She eyed everything and everyone in the bar with a coldness that made Rey almost certain that the woman was the informant. She longed to simply walk up and ask where 2187 had run off to, but that wasn’t an option, of course. Rey walked by the woman and further inside, intent on perhaps finding a table to wait a bit and see if 2187 appeared.

She was so overwhelmed by the experience that she nearly ran into a small alien that stepped into her path. Rey blinked several times at the tiny creature that looked up at her through magnified goggles. She immediately recognized the sentient as the same type, probably the same being, as the stature in the courtyard.

“Hello, dear,” it— _ she _ said kindly. “I am Maz. Is there something I can help you with?”

Rey wasn’t entirely sure what to say. “I—I’m looking for a friend. I thought he was here but I don’t see him,” she said, half-hoping the little sentient would just leave her alone.

“Who is your friend?” Maz asked instead. It was a logical question. If the little sentient owned the place, she might know where 2187 was.

“He’s—” she began but her words halted in her throat. She could not say he was a stormtrooper or his designation. “Maybe I’m in the wrong place,” she said instead.

Maz pursed her lips. “Oh I doubt that. You must be Rey.”

She blinked several times before dropping down to a crouch in front of the other woman. “You’ve seen him, then? Where is he?” she asked hurriedly.

“Yes, I’ve seen your friend and he will be happy to see you, but I don’t think that will be possible,” Maz said with a shake of her head.

Confusion filled her and her jaw opened and shut a few times before she asked, “What? Why not?” Was he already gone? This was her only chance to save him! The First Order would put a kill order on them both if she didn’t bring him back.

“Because you are here to take him back,” Maz responded serenely, as though it were the most obvious answer in the galaxy.

Rey’s jaw tightened. “Of course I am. It’s where he belongs. He’ll be killed if I don’t,” she said firmly.

The little sentient didn’t seem impressed. “You overestimate your Order. It’s not where he belongs and it’s not where  _ you _ belong,” Maz said with a wave of her finger.

Rey grimaced and sighed. “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said tiredly, and was about to get up and look for 2187 herself when Maz spoke again.

“Child, when you’ve lived as long as I have, you begin to notice things about people. I’ve had millions of people come through here but very few like your friend. Even fewer like you,” she said, her voice low and serious.

Rey’s head tilted and she knew her confusion showed on her face. “Like me?” she asked. There was nothing special about her. Lord Ren had said she had a connection with the Force, but it was so weak that she hadn’t even been considered for the Knights of Ren.

“Yes,” Maz said, holding out a hand. “Come.”

Rey bit her lip and looked around the bar once more. 2187 was still nowhere in sight and now neither was the informant. If she could have a look at the back rooms, perhaps ‘87 was hidden there. Rey took the small sentient’s hand and let Maz lead her through the public space and through another set of doors off to the side. The pair went down a set of stairs and Rey’s breathing became shallow and fast as her mind began to fill with sounds.

_ What was happening? _

She looked down at Maz as the screaming became louder . . . more familiar. The sentient didn’t seem to notice anything and Rey looked around, hoping to find the source of the crying. Her gaze found the door at the end of the hallway and Rey dropped Maz’s hand as she walked slowly towards the noise. The door unlocked before she’d even touched it, and she looked back at her sentient host who was still at the other end of the hall, watching her. None of this made any sense. Perhaps she’d gone too long without reconditioning. It was said that one’s mind could become unpredictable without it. Rey had never placed much stock in the idea but she was  _ hearing things _ . Even knowing she should leave, Rey  _ had _ to find out what was inside the room. She opened door and walked inside. It was a storage room of some kind, the dust showing the contents to be things long forgotten. 

The calls for someone to come back grew louder and Rey’s ears rang with the noise. She needed it to stop. It was . . .  _ painful _ to hear the sorrow and fear coming from what was clearly a small child. Rey knelt down in front of a small trunk. The sound was loudest there and her fingers twitched as she unlatched it. The top swung open and all at once the noise ceased.

“What?” she asked quietly, even though she was alone. 

There was something inside. Something not forgotten, unlike most of the other objects within the room. A polished metal cylinder sat innocently upon a pile of dark cloths, cradling it and affirming its importance. In the back of her mind, she knew she had seen something like this before. Her fingers reached out to brush the metal and the second she felt the cool surface, her vision changed and she looked around frantically.

Things weren’t—they weren't right. Voices were speaking to her as she turned this way and that, and the vision flashed through various scenes. A little girl looking into the distance as a ship flew away, a man and a droid around a campfire and . . . Kylo Ren coming for her—

She screamed and fell back onto the ground. The vision faded and she heard the pitter patter of steps as Maz came closer to her. Rey looked down to see the object— _ the lightsaber _ —clenched in her hand.

“I heard its call to you,” Maz whispered from beside her.

Rey looked at the weapon clutched in her hand. “I’m not strong enough to need this,” she said and she attempted to give the lightsaber back.

“You are stronger than you or anyone else knows,” Maz said, urgently pushing the weapon back at her.

Rey was about to respond when the building shook and she had to catch the small sentient from falling over.

“What is that?” she asked, panicked.

Maz was looking around at the ceiling as dust began to fall. “The First Order. They’re here.”

Rey shook her head.  _ That wasn’t right. _ “No, I still haven’t checked in. They shouldn’t be attacking!”

“I guess they got tired of waiting,” a familiar voice called from the doorway. She looked up and her eyes widened.

“2187!” she called, scrambling to get up as he hurried towards her. She stumbled when the ground shook again and he helped her up even as another explosion rocked the building.

“It’s Finn now,” he said before taking her hand. “Come on, we have to get out of here.”

That she could agree on, and she followed after he and Maz as they ran down the hall and back up the stairs. Dust and debris fell in sheets as they twisted around large chucks of crumbling walls and ceiling that obstructed their path. The main area had already emptied out by the time they made it back up, and 2187 roughly pushed tables and chairs out of their way. A large piece of stone fell and hit her shoulder and she stumbled. ‘87 grabbed hold of her and helped her run the rest of the way.

When they finally made it out of the collapsing building, Rey nearly sighed in relief even as pain shot through her shoulder and neck around her collar bone. She could still use her arm, but every movement was like a white-hot brand and she bit her lip against the pain.

“You both need to go!” Maz said, pushing them towards the forest. They began moving, but it was not in the direction of her ship. 

They made it to the treeline and Rey pulled them to a stop behind a broken-down building. “I have a ship close by. Let’s get out of here and go home,” she said urgently.

His brow furrowed in confusion and he shook his head emphatically. “I can’t!” he said, and he took one of her hands into his own and squeezed it. “Poe and BB-8 are already headed back to the Falcon.” He paused and his hand tightened even further. “I came back for you. Come with us, Rey.”

Her jaw dropped open and she didn’t know how to respond to the simultaneous flood of relief and sadness that filled her. He’d come back to get her but . . .

She looked down to where his fingers were laced with hers before meeting his eyes again. “You—you really left . . . left  _ me _ . . . willingly,” she whispered out.

2187’s jaw tightened and he tugged on her. “Rey, we don’t have time for this. Come on, or they’ll leave without us,” he said and she pulled her hand free.

Rey backed up a step and shook her head, “I can’t. The Order—”

“Doesn’t give a shit about you, Rey. They started bombing that building with you still inside it. If we leave before they see us, they don’t have to find out that you even survived.”

Her hand came down to rest on the blaster at her hip, “‘87—”

Rey wasn’t able to finish as the roaring sound of transports filled the air and ships landed. ‘Troopers spilled out and blaster fire started in earnest around them. She tried to duck down behind the debris but the air left her lungs suddenly. All at once her senses dulled and she blinked several times as she looked down. Red liquid began spreading over her olive green top and her jaw opened and closed several times as she struggled to process what had happened.

“Rey!” 2187 yelled as she all but collapsed into his arms. The lightsaber dropped from her hand down to the ground. She—She’d been shot. By  _ stormtroopers!  _

They would kill him too without pause or worse if he stayed. “Leave me, ‘87,” she said from her position on his lap.

He shook his head. “No, Rey. I’m not leaving you.”

Rey shook her head even as her teeth clenched in pain. He wouldn’t be coming back willingly and she didn’t have the droid. His fate was sealed if they captured him. “I don’t want you to die,” she said and her eyes moistened as her vision began to blacken around the edges.

His arms came around her and he hoisted her up. “I’m going to get you out of here, and the Resistance—they’ll help you.”

Blaster bolts were flying everywhere as the battle raged around them. It was a nice thought, but there was no way 2187 was going to carry her out of a live fire situation and not get shot himself.

She pulled on his jacket—the  _ pilot’s _ jacket. “I’m serious; leave or you’ll be killed.”

“I’m not leaving you,” he said again stubbornly.

But he already had. She could not read his thoughts, but she could feel his emotions. He’d met someone. Someone important to him. Important enough for him to forsake her and everything they’d ever been taught.

“You should have listened to her.”

Rey looked up, but the voice was unmistakable even without visual confirmation. Kylo Ren stood behind them, his lightsaber drawn. It hissed as the dust in the air sizzled on contact with the sun-hot blade.

“Lord Ren—” she began weakly.

The mask turned towards her sharply. “Quiet. You failed your mission.”

Rey’s eyes slid shut and she gave the barest nod. Her life was over. She’d tried to save her friend and now they would both die. She could hear Ren step closer over the graveled remains of the palace and she waited for the end to come.

2187 put her back down and she sighed. Everything was quiet for a second before a high-pitched charging noise ripped through the air. Her eyes snapped open to find ‘87 standing over her, the blue lightsaber in his hand.

Lord Ren paused to take in the situation but he did not seem intimidated in the least. “You think you can defend yourself—and  _ her _ —from  _ me _ ?” he asked incredulously.

“I got nothing to lose at this point,” ‘87 said heatedly.

The Knight snorted. “That’s where you’re wrong,” he intoned before his free hand came up and suddenly 2187 froze, his body trembling as he sought to free himself from the Knight’s hold. Lord Ren walked closer, his saber coming up to point towards the ex-trooper.

“Where is the map?” he asked calmly

‘87 shook his head frantically and didn’t answer. Lord Ren lifted his hand up so that it hovered close to 2187’s face. Rey watched as his mask tilted before he dropped his hand back to his side. His weapon was powered down and he called ‘87’s saber to him. 

Lord Ren ignored everything going on around him as he examined it. After a few seconds he looked up at the ex-trooper. “Where did you get this?” he asked, his voice curious even through the modulation.

Again 2187 didn’t answer. 

The Knight shrugged almost imperceptibly. “It doesn’t matter. You’ve seen the map.”

A small squad of ‘troopers came up behind Ren. “Sir, they have air support inbound.”

“Forget the droid. We have what we need,” he said before calling out, “Bring him.”

The two ‘troopers who had stood behind him marched forward and took hold of 2187 and began to drag him off.

“No! Rey!” he called, looking back at her still-crumpled form on the ground.

As the ‘troopers moved off, all that remained was Kylo Ren towering over her. He would either kill her quickly or leave her there to bleed out. As blood continued to seep through her fingers and over her abdomen, onto the ground, she rather hoped for the quick death.

He crouched down before her and simply looked at her face.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

His mask tilted. “For what?” he asked, his tone deceptively light.

Rey had to swallow back the blood that was beginning to well up in the back of her mouth. “I was a fool . . .” she began, and flinched as the pain in her collar bone stabbed through her. “For thinking that he would return,” she finally stuttered out.

He snorted. “Yes. Yes, you were. I assume you’ve learned from the experience.”

Rey let out a weak laugh. “I’ll keep it in mind in my next life.”

The blackness had all but swallowed up the light and her vision was fading rapidly. She felt her body move but it seemed so far away.

“You  _ are _ a fool,” she heard, “And so am I.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies on the lateness of this update. The last week or so has been rough. Hopefully we will be back on track after this.


	6. Chapter 6

Kylo carried the bleeding and dying girl through  _ Starkiller _ and he took a special sort of malicious glee when FN-2187 saw her unmoving body and hollered after them as he was dragged away. He’d deal with the wayward stormtrooper later. The  _ Finalizer _ would be arriving soon, but since Kylo’s ship was equipped with a Class 0.5 hyperdrive it was faster than the  _ Finalizer’s _ Class 2. 

RY-4209 had lost consciousness and she was losing blood. Even now, he could feel it seeping into his robes and over his skin. The med bay wasn’t far from the hangar and he walked there quickly, his patience running out. Her head swayed from side to side and he was certain that he could see her collar bone moving under the skin unnaturally. Kylo grimaced. He’d lost contact with her. It had only been for a few minutes, but it was enough for him to deploy the air strike and troops on the bar. She was injured and bleeding out because of that decision. The doors slid open and he deposited her on the first empty bed he found. The med droid was quickly by her side, scanning the injury.

“What are your orders, Lord Ren?” it asked before even attempting to save her.

“Get her back on her feet as quickly as possible,” he said, and the droid wheeled off to go and retrieve the necessary tools and patches. Kylo gazed at her for another minute. He still didn’t know what had happened to cut her off from him. He’d only gotten a flash of a child and a scream before the silence. He’d been certain that either 2187 or perhaps the pilot had killed her.

And then he’d seen her lying in an expanding pool of her own blood on the ground, clearly shot by a blaster, but still very much alive. 2187, the insect, had attempted to stop him from going to her, but the ex-trooper was nothing to him and had been defeated with hardly any effort on the Knight’s part.

The droid came back and began removing her clothing. Kylo swallowed behind his mask and looked away as her entire chest was bared to the room so the droid would have easier access for cleaning the wound.  Even unconscious, her skin pimpled in the cold air Kylo looked away before his eyes would stray any further. Satisfied that she would be fine now, he walked out of the bay and down the corridor towards the detention block. It was time to deal with the traitor. Kylo would extract the information from him and be done with this mission.

Skywalker would die as he should have so many years ago, and Kylo would fulfill his destiny and complete his grandfather’s work. He was tempted to make an example of the traitor afterwards; to execute him publicly. Hux would no doubt veto him, though—the ginger-haired man’s wish to keep the defector a secret would trump Kylo’s flair for the dramatic.

The lights were slightly dimmer when he entered the detention block—a psychological tool used to instill fear in their prisoners. He used the Force to tell him which cell the traitor was in. FN-2187 was already strapped to an interrogation rack and, judging by the way the younger man flinched as he shifted, the ‘troopers who had transported him had been none too gentle.

Kylo walked forward to stand before the other man. The room was silent for a long time as the pair stared at one another. Unlike Dameron, who loved to talk, 2187 was quiet and still, even in the face of the master of the Knights of Ren.

“FN-2187,” Kylo began as he moved to circle the other man. “You’ve lead us on quite the chase.”

The traitor gritted his teeth but spoke up. “My name is Finn,” he insisted.

A  _ name _ . . . Someone had given him a name.

“Finn . . .” Kylo breathed, testing it out. It was a simple name for a simple man. He reached down to his belt and his fingers glided past his own cross saber and instead pulled out the weapon that . . .  _ Finn _ had tried to threaten him with. Kylo recognized it, felt its connection to him. But he also felt its connection to another. Someone else had claimed it. That person was not Finn, however.

He ignited it and allowed it to twirl in his hands, the blade swinging dangerously close to the ex-trooper. “Where did you get this?” he asked as he admired the soft icy blue glow.

“None of your business,” Finn spat back at him, and Kylo smiled behind his mask. He powered the saber down again and hooked it back to his belt. The ex-trooper flinched as Kylo’s hand lifted and hovered over his face. The Knight allowed the tendrils of his own mind to seep from his very being and into the mind of the other man. Finn’s eyes widened as the pain began to throb in his temples. Kylo pushed and pulled more forcefully than he perhaps needed to, but he enjoyed the effects it had on the other man. Fear permeated through Finn’s mind and manifested as sweat and muscle twitches that wracked his body.

“Where did you get it,” he asked again, slowly, his sneer almost audible.

Finn lasted mere minutes before breaking under the strain of Kylo’s power. “Rey!” he screamed out after a moment. “Rey had it!”

He nearly released the other man in his confusion and shock. “RY-4209?  _ She _ is the one?” Kylo asked incredulously. 

His mind raced with the possibilities, but that would be a conversation for another day. There were more important things that needed to be addressed, first.

“Show me the map,” he said, pushing further into Finn’s mind. Finn’s eyes had flooded with tears by that point and his voice would no doubt be heard out in the hall as he screamed. The ex-trooper’s mind was being torn apart even as he fought to keep the information from Kylo. The Knight could clearly see Finn’s motivation. The handsome dark-haired pilot, Poe Dameron, had completely ensnared the former stormtrooper. Their connection was instant and mutual, it seemed. An older man and a wookiee also passed briefly through his mind.  _ Han Solo. _ It would figure that the smuggler would be involved in some way.

“Yes,” he said as the blue light of the navigational chart filled his vision. It slowly came into focus.  _ There . . . there it was. _ He had it now. 

Kylo pulled away from Finn’s mind and the man panted—glassy-eyed and unresponsive. The Knight was about to turn and leave when the door behind him suddenly slid open. Kylo whirled around, his fingers on his cross saber ready to launch an attack or defend. RY-4209 stood in the doorway, still clad in blood stained-civilian pants, but her olive green top had been traded for a black long sleeve undershirt. She leaned against the door jam and she was obviously still quite weak.

“You should not be here,” he said, moving closer to her. “You should be resting in the med bay.”

She stood her ground and looked up at him. “You told the droid to have me back on my feet as soon as possible,” she said by way of explanation, and it occurred to him that the only thing that could have sealed up her wound so quickly was the bactin gel. It was a precursor to bacta that healed lacerations far more quickly, but with a significantly larger amount of pain and excessive scarring as the tissue was literally melted back together. Her collarbone would have been repaired using bonegro, a fast-hardening foam that would hold the bones together before dissolving eventually. It too would have been extremely painful as it inflated through muscle and under her skin.

That had not been his intention, and he wasn’t ready to speak to her yet. He was about to say as much but she looked past him towards Finn.

Her lower lip trembled as she took in the mangled state of her friend. “What did you do to him?”

He would not apologize or regret any of his actions. “I took what he would not freely give.”

She turned back to look up at him. “If I could have just talked to him,” she began.

Kylo cut her off sharply. “You had your chance. You  _ failed _ . And besides, I have been inside his mind. He would not turn against the one who means the most to him.”

Her expression faltered. “That . . .”

“Is not you,” he finished for her.

“But . . .” she trailed off as she seemed to have a realization. “The pilot.”

He nodded. “Yes.  _ Finn _ here only has eyes for one person,” he said, coming even closer to her. She looked ready to turn and run so he grabbed her arm and steered her out of the room and into another across the hall. She pulled her arm from his grasp and backed away from him, her mind in turmoil. It was pathetic, but he was still reluctant to give up on her. His grandfather’s lightsaber would not have called to her if she was not worthy.

He pulled the weapon from his belt and held it out to her. “This . . . is yours?” he asked.

She looked at the saber for a moment and he nearly thought she would turn away, but the longer she looked at it, the more he could feel her  _ want. _ She was destined to have this weapon. Perhaps Finn’s defection had been the work of the Force, as well—a way to get her to the planet to find his grandfather’s lightsaber. It would explain how the ex-trooper was able to break his programming.

The thought pleased him, and he smiled as she reached out and took the weapon. She cradled it in her hands, reverent of it even without any knowledge of its origins.

“It was in the basement of the bar,” she said softly. “I heard someone crying—I think it was me . . . long ago.”

Kylo stepped closer, crowding her towards the wall. “It led you to the saber,” he said, watching her face for any sign of deception. There was none—only exhaustion and sadness. She tried to move away, but his arm shot out and his hand hit the wall, effectively caging her.

She swallowed audibly and looked anywhere but at his face . . . his mask. Being so close, he could see into her mind—see her doubt and her memories of the one who had hurt her so many years ago. A Knight who had meant a great deal to her but had made her feel like a fool.

“I’ll be with you . . . always,” the Knight had said, and she believed him until the day he disappeared.

“He’s gone back to Korriban to serve the Supreme Leader,” Phasma had told her. Tahre Ren had not left her so much as a note and she’d never heard from him again. Kylo could see the man’s face in her mind and his jaw tightened. He knew that face well.

“I’ll teach you the ways of the Force,” Kylo said. “You’ll forget 2187 and you’ll be strong.”

But she shook her head and the top of her hair brushed the underside of his mask. “I just want to go back to being a pilot.”

It wasn’t what she wanted—not really. He could tell that much from her conflicted thoughts. But she didn’t trust him—didn’t trust anyone after the betrayals of 2187 and Tahre Ren.

His finger came up under her chin and her face lifted until he could see her eyes. “I keep my promises,” he told her. “I won’t leave you behind.”

* * *

 

 

Rey didn’t quite believe him. How could she? She’d never even seen his face or heard his natural voice. He was this wraith of a person that shadowed her every move. And why would he care? He was  _ Kylo Ren, _ the master of the Knights of Ren. Even with the lightsaber she’d found, nothing had changed . . . not really.

But suddenly he wasn’t looking at her, his mask turned sharply and he uttered a name, “Han Solo.”

He abruptly let go of her, his head turning this way and that as if scenting the air like a dog. She watched as he finally seemed to catch what he was looking for and he strode towards the door. She expected him to disappear—off to investigate whatever it was that had caught his attention, but he paused as the door slid open.

He faced away from her, but she clearly heard his words. “We will finish our conversation later. You and I have much to discuss,” he said, but didn’t wait for a response before stalking out into the hallway, the door shutting softly behind him. Rey looked down to where she still held the lightsaber. She’d seen 2187— _ Finn, _ as Lord Ren had referred to him—try to use it but fail.

What would happen to ‘87 now? Did he even regret his actions? She pushed away from the wall and went back to the door. It opened smoothly for her and she walked back across the corridor to the other interrogation room before she could change her mind. As soon as the door was open, she immediately noticed that 21— _ Finn _ was conscious again and trying to escape.

“You know that won’t work,” she said slowly, and his head snapped up to look at her.

Relief poured over his features. “Rey, get me out of here.”

She stared at him for a few seconds and at this point, she just felt  _ tired. _ “I can’t do that,” she said softly, coming closer, and the door shut behind her.

His brow furrowed at her words as he looked at her in shock. “Rey, they’re gonna  _ kill me _ if I don’t get out of here,” he said emphatically.

Her jaw clenched and suddenly she was angry—angry at him for abandoning her, angry at Lord Ren for capturing 2187 but most of all . . . she was angry at herself for believing in her friend. “They’re going to kill you anyway,” she snapped.

‘87 shook his head in disbelief before he tried to reason with her. “I escaped once already. You’re a pilot, Rey. We can leave together.”

She wanted to believe that he was saying that because he didn’t want to leave her behind . . . but she knew the truth and her expression crumpled. Despair and hatred for the man who had stolen 2187 slowly crept through her mind, twisting her thoughts painfully. “You just want to go back to  _ him.” _

“What are you talking about?” 2187 asked in confusion.

His denials just made her blood boil even further. “Him.  _ Poe Dameron, _ the one who means so much to you that you would turn your back on  _ everything.” _

‘87 finally seemed to realize that he was treading through dangerous territory and he gentled his voice. “It’s not like that.”

He was a _ liar _ just like Tahre. “Then what is it like?” she demanded angrily.

He looked anywhere but at her. “He’s—he’s different than anyone else I’ve ever met.”

Of course he was. Poe Dameron was a child of the Republic and the old rebellion. He’d been born and raised in an unstructured and unfettered world without order. “He’s the enemy,” she said.

But 2187 shook his head. “He fights for what he truly believes in. For what’s right.”

Rey felt her heart shatter inside her chest, red seeping into her vision. “He fights for the rights of politicians who bicker amongst themselves while the people starve and die. I’ve seen the rim worlds that the Senate is too busy to think of—seen how they barely scrape by. I lived on a planet like that where the people are barely more than slaves. We were both given a better life because of the Order!”

He was becoming angry with her. “Maybe  _ you _ were. I wasn’t. I’ve seen my file. I was culled from a village and I had a family! A family I’ll never know. The Republic isn’t perfect, but they don’t snatch children from their mother’s arms. I can’t fight for the Order! They need to be stopped!”

Was what she believed in so wrong? Were her goals and ambitions evil in his mind? “Were you ever really my friend?” she asked sadly, “Or were you just waiting to stab me in the back like everyone else?” she asked, her voice having gone numb.

‘87 still struggled within his bonds. “Rey. Believe me when I tell you that you are one of the most important people in my life and I want you to come with me. We don’t even have to go to the Resistance. We can go somewhere else. Somewhere where we aren’t forced to kill for them.”

Rey stared at him for a long time and tried to sort through her own feelings, but she could not shake the memory—the decision that had somehow defined her. She’d shot down that civilian craft without orders—had watched it explode and burn without remorse. Her lip trembled as her mind whited out and clarity sang through her thoughts. 

Rey didn’t kill because the First Order forced her. She killed because she _ wanted _ to.

Her hand came down on the lightsaber at her side. “I can’t let you go, Finn. But I know what they will do to you. You and I both know the punishment for desertion.”

He flinched as she pulled the lightsaber from her belt. “This is the only thing I can do for you,” she said, her tone flat as she ignited the weapon.

His jaw dropped open and he struggled even more. “No—No Rey! Don’t do this!” he yelled, the blue light reflecting from his eyes eerily as she walked closer.

She took a steadying breath. “This will be quicker and you won’t suffer. I promise,” she said as she raised the weapon. This was for the best. She wasn’t versed in close-combat weaponry but she would make sure it was quick.

White ringed Finn’s eyes as shock overcame him, and she was about to bring the glowing blade down onto her friend when the door behind her slid open. Rey turned abruptly, but she didn’t even have a chance to react as her arm was hit by a blaster bolt.

“Ah!” she yelped in pain, holding her arm close to her body as she staggered back and into the wall. It wasn’t bad, but blood was dripping down her fingertips as the lightsaber depowered.

“Han!” Finn called, and she looked at the old man and the wookiee properly. This was the man Kylo Ren had left to find, she realized.  _ Han Solo _ . She wanted to go after him, but the wookiee had a bowcaster aimed her way and she was well aware of its capabilities.

Han jogged quickly to Finn’s side and unlatched him. The wookiee let out a low growl and Rey glared at the creature from the corner, promising death in her gaze. Finn jumped down from the rack and the two men made to leave, but Han stopped and looked at the saber she had clutched to her chest.

“Where did you get that?” he asked suspiciously, and she could see from his expression that he recognized the weapon. He’d known whoever it had belonged to. Lord Ren had seemed attached to it, as well, and she suddenly longed to know the history of the weapon.

“It doesn’t matter,” she said instead of answering. “Not to you anyway.”

He looked reluctant to leave it with her but apparently decided that trying to take it from her by force wasn’t a good trade-off. The man continued out but Finn stood there for a few more seconds.

“I really am sorry, Rey,” he said.

“Don’t ever let the Order or  _ me  _ find you, Finn,” she said calmly.

He looked disappointed before walking out. The door slid shut and she heard the sound of a single blaster bolt which meant they had sabotaged the doors and comms. Rey looked down at the wound on her arm, feeling the pain that radiated from it. She focused on it—on the physical, aching reminder of 2187’s betrayal, and it steeled her resolve. Rey looked towards the door and  _ her _ lightsaber ignited beside her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It occurred to me that I forgot to post this yesterday! Sorry about that!


	7. Chapter 7

At first she’d hacked at the thick metal door in anger, but after a few minutes it had become clear that the lightsaber had both strengths and limitations. She’d taken a breath and then began to slowly cut her way through the metal. Her hands and arms had burned from the heat, and she’d gritted her teeth through the pain and weakness that she still felt from being shot only an hour ago. When she’d finally cut an oval large enough for her to step through, she’d kicked the center piece out with a sharp cry of effort, and it had fallen to the ground outside with a loud crash.

She stepped through just as a pair of stormtroopers came running down the hall to investigate the noise. They came to a halt, blasters raised at the sight of her—she must have been a  _ mess _ at that point. Sweat, blood, and burns all over her body with a melted door on the floor and a sputtering lightsaber at her side.

“Where is Lord Ren?” she asked, her tone brooking no argument from the soldiers.

They looked at each other for a second before one answered her. “He is outside the base, searching for an intruder.”

She clenched her jaw.  _ If he’d just waited in the detention block, he’d have already found his intruder,  _ she thought sourly. “Relay to him and to General Hux that the intruder is inside the base. A human male named Han Solo is here with a wookiee, and he has escaped with FN-2187.”

They didn’t speak, which meant that someone on the bridge had been listening. She waited a few seconds as they received orders.

“General Hux has ordered that you go to hangar 22-A. The deflector shield has dropped over the planet and enemies are inbound.”

Rey’s jaw dropped and her eyes widened.  _ That shouldn’t be possible _ , she thought, before clenching her fists.  _ Finn _ had led them to a control room, obviously, and now the Resistance was coming to get him.

“Target?” she asked, intent on stopping the rendezvous.

The trooper hesitated. “The thermal oscillator.”

All expression melted from her face. If the oscillator was destroyed, the entire planet would go with it. Finn had signed the death warrants of hundreds of thousands of his brothers and sisters

“Acknowledged,” she said, before moving away and running down the long corridors. Rey eventually made it to the correct hangar and she passed by other pilots who were heading out to join the battle. One of them tossed a flight suit her way with a nod and she hastily pulled it up over her clothes. The lightsaber was attached to the utility belt around her waist, and she pulled a helmet and gloves off the rack before running out into the emptying hangar. Pilots ran here and there, jumping into TIE fighters. There weren’t any interceptors on  _ Starkiller _ , only on the  _ Finalizer _ , she realized with a grimace.

A fighter would have to do. She looked around and finally spotted an empty one and got inside. The controls were just as she remembered from the last time she’d flown one, and the ship came online smoothly. She latched her helmet into place and released the docking clamps. Telemetry readouts and comm unit reports filled her senses. The top of the fighter slid shut over her and she immediately began to take off, flying out into the cold atmosphere of the planet. The enemy was already being engaged by other TIEs, but the X-wings were firing multiple direct hits over the oscillator. She watched as the cannon fire hit its target, but so far none had penetrated the thick roofing of the building.

“Weapon is preparing to fire on their home base in twenty seven minutes,” came a report over the comms.

She nodded to herself and was about to join the fray when a secondary order came. “Intruders spotted heading for the oscillator on foot. Suspected sabotage imminent.”

Stormtroopers were being deployed and no doubt Kylo Ren was also on his way but they wouldn’t get there in time. “Mission leader, this is RY-4209-ISC.”

“Go ahead, squad commander.”

“Breaking formation to intercept the intruders. Request cover.”

“Acknowledged. Red Team, keep them off her back.”

“Sir!” came the sound of multiple voices over the comms, and she broke away from the fight. She flew low and dodged a shot from an X-wing before the ship was forced back into the fray by the Red Team. She searched for a place within the snowy forest for a place to land, but there weren’t any clearings big enough in the immediate vicinity so she chose a location set a bit further back. The landing was rough due to her speed, but she didn’t have time to waste on slowing down for a soft landing.

Rey was jostled a bit but able to pull herself from the cockpit and into the freezing snow. The flight suit provided some protection from the frigid temperature, but that was far from her mind as she plowed through the powdery snow towards the treeline, and then to the oscillator. The foliage was thick in some places, and she was forced to cut through it with her saber, and she was panting with exertion by the time she reached her target. Her eyes darted along the building but there wasn’t a clear entrance on that side. She clenched her jaw in frustration and was about to try and make her way around when she spotted a maintenance ladder in the distance. It wasn’t perfect, but it would have to do. 

Rey looked up at the sky towards the air battle that still raged above her. Blaster fire was coming down like rain onto the ground and she needed to get through that. She took in a great lungful of the frigid air, letting the pain in her lungs fuel her anger, and she took strength from that before running into the line of fire. 

Blaster bolts hit the snow around her, sending up plumes of the pale powder into the air around her, and she kept her eyes on the sky as she dodged both random fire and what she was certain were shots aimed directly at her from the X-wings. Snow clung to her black suit, numbing her in places, and the air froze the skin of her face. Her lips felt dry and her eyes burned and she was ready to give up by the time she made it to the building. Her hands trembled violently as she cut through the lock with her lightsaber, and she looked up the ladder in dejection for only a second before she began climbing up the three-story chute.

The frigid temperature made her muscles stiff, and she had to stop a couple of times in exhaustion, but she was eventually able to get all the way up. Her breath was coming in harsh, misty pants as she opened the door and staggered inside. The air inside the oscillator was warm and dry and she nearly collapsed in relief from the cold. She gripped the railing of the balcony to keep herself upright until her knuckles were white as she looked around for the traitor and his friends.

Rey’s vision was slightly blurry from the sheer physical exhaustion and pain she was experiencing, so she had to blink several times to see what was going on. She spotted movement on the other side and was about climb down from the balcony when across from her, the main door opened. 

Her eyes widened as she spotted Lord Ren walking around the building. His hood was down and the light glinted dully off the smooth top of his helmet. He gave out orders before heading towards the breezeway that bisected the oscillator. The Knight was looking towards her and she knew he’d sensed her. Rey breathed a sigh of relief as he got closer. 

But suddenly he stopped and stood still on the breezeway. Behind Lord Ren, she spotted the old man from before, Han Solo, walking slowly towards him. Lord Ren knew he was there, but he hadn’t turned around to face the old man yet.

“Ben!” the man yelled, and the name echoed through the cavernous chamber. Lord Ren stayed still and silent for a minute before he turned and faced the old man. 

“Han Solo,” he said calmly, “I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time.”

_ How did Lord Ren know this criminal so intimately? Lord Ren’s name was actually Ben? _ Questions filled her mind and she swallowed as the two stared at one another.

Solo walked closer. “Take off that mask. You don't need it.” He sounded tired, like he’d have rather been digesting in a sarlacc pit than talking to the Knight.

“What do you think you’ll see if I do?” Lord Ren asked, his mask tilted and Rey wondered why he hadn’t run the man through yet. The old smuggler was no match for the master of the Knights of Ren!

“The face of my son,” he said. Rey blinked several times as she clutched onto the railing. Kylo Ren’s  _ father _ was attempting to sabotage  _ Starkiller? _

Ren was silent before he reached up and hit the release on his helmet. It was lifted away, but Rey could only see a thick mane of dark curls from her vantage point. Just as well, Lord Ren obviously didn’t like people seeing his face, or he wouldn’t wear a mask. Ren and Han Solo continued to speak below her but she wasn’t quite able to hear their words. She did see Solo move even closer and Lord Ren letting him. What was happening? There was still a battle raging above them!

If Lord Ren wouldn’t take care of their enemies, then she would. This planet would not be destroyed—not without a fight. Rey sneered at the sight of so many stormtroopers watching the scene unfold and not looking for the saboteurs. The wookiee and Finn were around there somewhere and she planned to find them.

She slid under the railing as Lord Ren and Solo continued their family reunion, and she scanned the various platforms, looking for the hairy beast and her traitorous ex-friend. The warmth of the oscillator had helped with her stiff muscles, and her body was no longer wracked with violent shivering. She was silent as she moved through the darkness, looking for her targets.

There . . . in the shadows. 

The wookiee’s sheer size made it difficult to hide and it, along with everyone else, was watching. She hopped down as quietly as she could between the support beams and landed on the platform just above Lord Ren. She moved quickly through the darkness, passing stormtroopers who would deserve to die if the place really did blow for their lack of vigilance. She still didn’t see Finn but the wookiee would do for now.

Rey saw Kylo hold his lightsaber out to Han Solo in her periphery. “I'm being torn apart,” he said almost sadly. “I want to be free of this pain.” Her face twitched in disgust but she steeled herself and resolutely ignored what was happening. She had a mission to complete.

“I know what I have to do, but I don't know if I have the strength to do it,” he said softly though it echoed like everything else. “Will you help me?”

She walked quietly towards the wookiee. Its hairy back was to her and she pulled her lightsaber from her belt. The wookiee was so focused on Lord Ren and his father that she was able to get close enough. She ignited the weapon and launched herself at the creature. The massive sentient roared as her lightsaber went through its chest. She was about to yank the saber and cut the creature in half when the blaster fire started and she was hit in the side.  _ Again. _

The lightsaber’s glow vanished as she let go of the hilt and the wookiee swung around and slammed its massive fists into her, sending her flying to the side and into the floor. She slid a ways before nearly going over the side, her hand catching on the railing. She looked up just in time to see Lord Ren look her way before running his own saber through his father’s chest.

She blinked several times even as her hand clenched over the new blaster burn on her side. Lord Ren . . .

“No,” she whispered in shock. She knew that face—it had haunted her for years. She . . . she could  _ not _ be seeing him. Tahre had left and never returned. He hadn’t cared about her. He’d  _ lied _ to her!

“I’ll be with you . . . always,” Tahre had whispered in the dark on their last night together, and she’d held onto him so tightly—had _ believed _ him. Then the modulated voice of Kylo Ren filled her mind: “I keep my promises,” he’d told her. “I won’t leave you behind.”

He . . . he hadn’t left her. He’d watched her all those years from behind a mask.  _ But why? _ Her head shook from side to side as she tried to figure out why he’d done such a thing. Why he hadn’t told her.

She swallowed back the bile that rose up as she fought to get herself together. The old man hung there before he fell away, into the abyss of the oscillator. Ren looked back up at her and their eyes met for the first time. Later she would lament that she’d distracted him because one second he was standing there looking at her and the next he was on the ground after being shot.

“No! Tahre!” she screamed, and pulled herself up only to nearly fall over the railing as massive explosions surrounded the structure.

Rey gritted her teeth. She’d failed to stop the sabotage and now the entire planet was going to blow! Fire raged around her and her hands trembled as her fingers clenched with pain and anger. Her entire body was going to be a giant bruise if she survived this. She looked around and spotted her lightsaber lying on the ground behind her. The wookiee was long gone, as was Finn, who must have been the one to shoot her.

“Cowards,” she ground out, limping towards the stairs. She had to get to Lord Ren—quickly, before they both died. Rey held tightly to the railing as heat from the fires seared her skin. She made it to the ground level and she shook with rage as a squad of ‘troopers ran past her to escape rather than going to the aid of Lord Ren.

Her lightsaber flashed with life and she could not stop herself from slicing the last one down the middle as he ran like a frightened child. The smoke was burning her lungs but she trudged forward, looking for the fallen Knight.

There! She finally spotted him, stumbling and clutching his side as he made his way towards the exit.

“Lord Ren!” she called, and he looked up. She moved closer, as did he, and she couldn’t stop herself from wrapping an arm around him as they met. He did the same and buried his face in her hair.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, close to her ear.

“Rescuing you.”

He snorted and looked around at the crumbling building. “Yes, that’s working out quite well for us both,” he said.

As much as she wanted to punch him in the face for his lies . . . “We have to get out of here,” she said seriously, and he nodded in agreement. It was only a matter of time before the X-wings finished the job that Lord Ren’s father had started. 

She pulled out her comm unit and typed in the code for Captain Phasma. 

“Yes, commander?” came the captain’s voice. It sounded a bit frazzled, but with the planet threatening to explode around them, she could understand that.

“I need emergency evac for Lord Ren. He’s been injured and needs immediate medical attention.”

“I’m fine,” he ground out from beside her, even as he continued to use her as a crutch through the snow.

“Location?” Phasma asked.

“Approximately one point two kilometers south of the oscillator. There is a clearing where my TIE fighter is. We’re headed there now.”

“Acknowledged. ETA four minutes.”

Rey nodded to herself and shoved the comm back into her pocket. She needed to get him out of here.  

“4209,” he began but she cut him off.

“Shut up and keep walking,” she ordered as the two injured people continued through the woods. The planet itself was shaking by that point, and she did her best to keep them both walking. Just as they broke the treeline, she could see the tell-tale wings of her fighter. They paused, and sure enough another ship appeared and set down on the powder-covered ground. Phasma appeared on the lowered ramp.

“Come on!” she called, and Rey hurried to get Kylo Ren aboard. She set him down onto a bench and got up to run back out. Ren was nearly passed out with blood loss but he still tried to stop her.

“Where are you going?” he hissed out, grabbing hold of her.

She yanked at her arm. “They are still attacking, which means they haven’t succeeded in destroying the oscillator yet. They can still be stopped.”

He shook his head repeatedly and tried to hold onto her, but she pulled away and ran back out into the snow, nodding to Phasma who watched her even as the ramp closed . . . then the ship blasted away. Rey would either succeed and the Resistance would be destroyed once and for all or she would die with this planet and with the hundreds of thousands of ‘troopers and officers who were still inside its depths, unable to escape the impending explosion.

But she would take  _ Poe Dameron _ with her.

Rey ran quickly through the snow, blood staining the ground as she went. Her ship hadn’t cooled much since she’d been gone and it powered back on quickly. Her TIE was sailing through the air within seconds and she headed back towards the main battle. She joined in the fight, shooting down X-wing after X-wing, and she saw the exact moment that they noticed the damaged oscillator. Rey got in behind the enemy craft who were providing cover for the one she was sure was piloted by Dameron. She took aim and began picking them off, but she wasn’t fast enough and she was forced to pull up at the last second as Dameron’s ship went inside the oscillator.

“No!” she yelled, her hand slamming down on her console as the oscillator and everything around it went up in flames. The planet was lost.  _ She’d failed. _ Her fingers clenched around the controls and she ignored the heightened chatter coming through her comm unit as she went after a particularly crafty X-wing. She shot it down with efficiency and no small amount of satisfaction and was flying back towards the center of the fray when she spotted something in the distance. The  _ Corellian freighter _ took off and was headed into space. _ No! _ The X-wings broke away and headed for it, and the TIEs followed, firing as many shots as they could, but the fighters weren't as fast as the interceptors or the X-wings and she could only watch as they made it out into the dark of space before jumping away.

“Quickly! Get as far from the planet as possible!” came the voice of the mission leader and she, along with the others, flew as far and as fast as they could to escape the blast.

Her vision whited out as the planet finally shook apart and disintegrated. She, along with everyone else, was thrown out into the void. Rey had no control over her ship; she could only hold on as the fighter was tossed like a ragdoll.

Eventually the ship turned enough so she could see the area where the planet used to be. It was practically a dust cloud, catching the light of the neighboring star. 

“Mission Leader, team status,” she said into her comms but nothing came back, not even static. Her ship had suffered massive damage and she’d lost propulsion, comms, even life support.

Rey could see other TIEs floating nearby, and it looked as though they’d suffered the same fate. Her fingers released the controls and she sat back. She’d expected this and even perhaps welcomed an end to her pain. It was expected, and an accepted part of the lives of ‘troopers. The Order did not waste time on search and rescue. They had a military that was large enough that it didn’t matter when many died. 

Her air would eventually run out and she would die quietly in the dark of space. And as things went, Rey was somehow fine with that. She’d have preferred a quicker death in battle, going out in a blaze of glory in defense of the Order, but this wasn’t so bad either. The view was one that few would have, the stars twinkling in the distance behind the remains of  _ Starkiller _ . Tiny explosions puffed up in the distance every once in awhile as an air pocket was set aflame. 

FN-2187 had gotten away, she was sure. He was with that other pilot, Poe Dameron. The one who wasn’t Rey. She allowed a smile to cross her features as she leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. If she ever saw either of them again, she’d kill them both . . . but hopefully he was happy.

And Tahre . . . Kylo. He was alive. She’d gotten him off the planet in time. Rey smiled a bit into the darkness. After all those years, he hadn’t abandoned her. It was  _ she _ who had run from  _ him _ . But Rey didn’t regret her choices. She didn’t regret anything.

The adrenaline of the battle wore off and the air was beginning to thin, so she shut her eyes and let herself fall into oblivion, certain that she’d never wake up again. Rey didn’t know exactly how much time had passed before her TIE was abruptly jarred and gravity was reintroduced. It was hard to breathe and she struggled to hit the catch on her helmet. The front of the TIE was practically ripped open just as she caught the release. She took a deep breath and blinked through her hazy, oxygen-deprived vision. A dark shadow fell over her but she was too tired to defend herself as it drew near.

“RY-4902,” it— _ he _ said.

“Lord Ren,” she managed to utter out breathily. Rey felt a hand on her face, tracing the line of her jaw, and slowly her vision was returning to normal.

He’d come back for her? Lord Ren had . . . no one had ever come back for her, not even FN-2187.

“I’ll always come for you . . . Rey.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's it. I hope you guys enjoyed this little mini fic. I have ideas for a sequel but no real plans to write one any time soon. I've got other writing priorities at the moment. Be sure to check out my other fic, [Backwater Girls](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7643068) which is ongoing and updated weekly if you haven't already. :)

**Author's Note:**

> New fic! This one is just seven chapters so it's no Backwater Girls. This story will be updated on Mondays and I send out a huge thanks to my beta-readers, Firelord65 and Juulna, who put up with my neurotic behavior while writing this.If you'd like to stay up to date on my progress and what I'm doing, you can follow me on tumblr @sophiascribbling
> 
> Note: This was initially part of the Reylo Big Bang, but I'm not sure what happened there so I'm just going to post on my usual schedule.


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